Lisa Darmanin (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's probably fair to say I disagree with most of what has just been spoken about on the other side. A good budget is about reform, resilience and fairness but also heart, and that is exactly what you would expect from a Labor government.

What I would like to talk about first off, in response, is something contained in this budget that hasn't been spoken about in this chamber yet but is really important and life changing. I want to tell you about someone called Atlas and why, for Atlas and thousands of young people just like Atlas who are experiencing homelessness, this federal budget is bring hope and action. I was lucky enough to meet Atlas through the Home Time campaign. Atlas is a brilliant young advocate who was in and out of homelessness for 10 years. I will give Atlas's own words:

I left home with no money. Just a duffle bag full of clothes and no idea what I was doing.

I was too young to access payments like JobSeeker and I didn't understand the system. I didn't understand what was needed of me to access housing because I'd never had to before.

I spent years couch surfing and moving from crisis accommodation to park benches to strangers' couches with nowhere to go and no foreseeable way out.

Children and young people just like Atlas lose their homes for many reasons, like extreme life events, family and domestic violence, abuse, neglect and estrangement, all beyond their own control. Of course, all young people need safety, security and access to housing to have stability and a fair chance to build their future. But, until this week's federal budget, a flaw in our social housing system has disadvantaged providers and discouraged them from offering young people like Atlas tenancies. It has meant too many young people haven't been able to access social housing to escape homelessness. This flaw, known as the youth housing penalty, has made young people financially unviable tenants for community housing providers, paying just $86.52 a week in rent compared with $186.33 for someone on the age pension. It has meant that generations of young Australians haven't been able to access social housing to escape homelessness. Today, only around two per cent of social tenants are under 25, despite young people making up almost 15 per cent of Australians experiencing homelessness.

In this budget, our government has now invested $60 million to create a new youth housing supplement, which will unlock social housing for more than 4,000 young people just like Atlas to solve this problem. This would not have been possible without the fierce advocacy from the Home Time campaign, a coalition of community organisations, housing providers, unions and young people who have led this campaign for reform over three years and have now delivered through this budget. Atlas said this week:

I can't fully articulate what this supplement means for the young people who are currently experiencing homelessness, the people who have become so accustomed to falling through the cracks in the system.

This subsidy is just the first step of many in the changes we need to create a truly equitable system—but for the first time in a long time there is hope.

This budget demonstrates Labor's focus should be first and foremost about housing for people across Australia, including people like Atlas, as security and as a home. I want to thank Atlas for their advocacy. I also want to thank Daniel Scoullar and all those from the Home Time campaign for making this happen and all the workers who support people like Atlas in the community sector—who lead, advocate and support young people—and the many thousands of those who also happen to be ASU members.

I'd like to turn now to a specific section in Senator Chandler's motion that states:

Labor's housing taxes will mean 35,000 fewer homes, higher rents and less investment …

This is incorrect, and I want to put on record the misinformation and address the misinformation that those opposite are seeking to spread to the Australian people rather than supporting and being a part of the solution to address the issues that we are trying to over a long period of time. It's clear that the status quo is currently not working. The current tax settings in the housing market and in the tax system are way out of balance. In this budget, we're reforming the tax system to support 75,000 more Australians into homeownership, because this government wants to rebalance the scales. Right now, the system favours those who already have assets over those trying to get ahead. Young people want the same thing generations before had—a chance to own a home, to put down roots and to be a part of their community. That first rung on the ladder matters, and these changes will give 75,000 Australians the opportunity to step onto it. Australians can still invest with the same benefits, but now it's about investing in new supply so that we're building more homes and making housing more affordable. Our reforms strike a balance, supporting first home buyers while still enabling investment that adds to housing supply.

Let's look at what the budget shows. Yes, the budget papers do estimate a number of 35,000 fewer homes linked to these tax changes. But it's important to read all of the papers in totality, and this is based on a scenario where the government doesn't do anything else to boost construction. We know that the tax changes are not the only thing contained in the budget that are addressing housing supply. We are doing much, much more.

One of those actions is the $2 billion Local Infrastructure Fund. Treasury estimates that the $2 billion Local Infrastructure Fund will support the construction of 65,000 additional homes over the next decade. That means that the net result is 30,000 more homes being built, and that is before you account for the broader impact. That's a $2 billion fund bringing total investment in housing-enabling infrastructure to $6.3 billion, a steep change in supporting new supply. It's also tied to planning and building reforms from the states and territories, with Treasury estimating this will unlock tens of thousands of additional homes beyond that 65,000. Importantly, new housing is exempt from the tax changes, encouraging investment where it will make the biggest difference.

This budget builds on an already ambitious housing agenda, lifting total Commonwealth housing investment to $47 billion. The goal here is straightforward: more homes, better access and a system that works for people trying to get in, not just those already ahead.