Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator O'Neill for the question on the important area of the Commonwealth's investment in housing—and my colleagues who sit here today in the chamber for all the advocacy that goes into our policy development. We know that the pressures in the housing sector have been growing for some time. They preceded the Albanese government being elected in 2022, and we acknowledged in that campaign that homeownership felt too far away and being a renter felt too insecure, which is why Labor have put together a $43 billion plan to build more homes, back first home buyers into homeownership and support renters.

Key initiatives include, for first home buyers, the $10 billion to build 100,000 homes for first home buyers, $6.3 billion under Help to Buy and $5.4 million for the five per cent deposit scheme expansion. To boost supply we've also provided billions of dollars to states and territories to address infrastructure backlogs and deliver new housing. To increase productivity we have invested to accelerate the uptake of modern methods of construction and, again, invested in our commitment to incentivise states and territories to remove red tape preventing the uptake of modern methods of construction.

For social and affordable housing, we've invested to make sure that the Housing Australia Future Fund and the social housing accelerator payment—