Charlotte Walker (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I understand why people are fired up about housing. I'm a young Australian. My group chats are basically divided between memes, TikToks and friends panic-sending property listings they can't afford, so when the Greens bring forward a matter of urgency on housing I hear the emotion behind it, but we also have to be clear-eyed about what actually fixes the problems. That starts with facts, not just vibes.

Let's start with APRA. This motion talks like investor lending is something the government can just turn off. APRA is independent. It exists so that politicians don't meddle with lending standards and the financial system stays stable. Last week, APRA released its system risk outlook. They assessed the Australian financial system as stable, resilient and well placed to absorb shocks. They noted that lending standards overall remain sound but that some higher risk behaviour is ticking up. APRA has already said that they're monitoring these risks and will begin to tighten lending standards if needed. That's how it should work: not politicians dictating interest rates from the Senate chamber but experts making informed and considered decisions. I know it is tempting to yell 'Stop investors now!' like it's the whole solution to housing affordability, but if we destabilise the system then young people will be the first to pay the price.

I'll now move to the big issue: housing supply. The quickest way to not build the homes people need is to do what the coalition did—nothing. In the 10 years they were in government, they delivered just 373 social and affordable homes. The coalition did nothing, delivered even less and are still fighting tooth and nail to stop us from doing what's right. The Greens have never delivered a thing and spend their time trying to stop any real action. Labor have built 5,000 social and affordable homes, and we have another 25,000 in the pipeline. They're real projects, real sites and real roofs over real people's heads. I wish that we could say that we did this with bipartisan support, but, no: we've had the coalition and the Greens teaming up like the world's oddest couple to block us at every turn.

Last month, the Treasury secretary said that some of the ongoing challenges are due to legislation being held up. Meanwhile, dwelling commencements grew by 9.2 per cent through June 2025. That's a huge turnaround, especially when you remember that they were falling by almost 29 per cent the last time the coalition was in charge. Dwelling investment grew to 4.8 per cent compared to going backwards when this government came to office. New builds are rising, not falling. We're not just building more homes; we're helping young Australians get into them. Our five per cent deposit scheme means that every first home buyer can now get in the door sooner, without spending a decade only eating mee goreng and skipping coffees to scrape together a deposit. Since coming to office, we've already supported 197,000 Australians into homeownership through this program alone. We're delivering the most ambitious housing agenda since the end of World War II. That's $43 billion to help build more homes, give renters a better deal and help more young people into homeownership. The challenges are big—no-one denies that—but we're actually doing the work.

Housing affordability is not just about supply; it's also about the cost of living. We're delivering three rounds of personal income tax cuts—one last year, one next year and another after that. More than a million Australians on lower incomes will be exempt from the Medicare levy or continue to pay a reduced rate. From next year, Australians will get a $1,000 instant tax deduction for work-related expenses, helping 5.7 million people keep more of what they earn. We're also using tax to boost housing supply by introducing new tax breaks that will help build 80,000 new rental properties. That is a real impact, and we're not stopping here. We're increasing super for low-income workers, cracking down on multinational tax avoidance and supporting small businesses. In short, it's a tax system that actually supports young Australians instead of making life harder.

Unlike some in this chamber, we don't pretend there is a single magic bullet. Instead we are pulling every lever available—supply, planning reforms, tax incentives, modular builds, the Housing Australia Future Fund, Help to Buy, the five per cent deposit scheme and more. It's not glamorous, it's not a slogan— (Time expired)