Andrew Bragg (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Housing and Homelessness) | Hansard source

Thank you for that protection. The government have failed to deliver any reasonable reform here in relation to the National Construction Code. This is an opportunity now for the nation to have a proper debate: do we want to allow people to build a cheap house, or do we not want to allow people to build a cheap house if they want to? Last time I looked, we lived in a free country and a free society, where people should be able to build a cheap house which is safe and secure, if they want to. So that is one of the core recommendations of this review.

I note with great regret the ability of rent seekers and parasites to inject themselves into the public policy process. That is what has happened in relation to this construction code. All the vested interests have made it uneconomic to build. One of the problems we have in this country is that it's very hard to make any money out of housing, so not many houses are being built. This is a way to lower the cost. If you want to have a super-duper energy-efficient house, then you can have that. That's in the report.

The second thing I'd say in relation to the massive problem of mortgage fraud is that we are now going to recommend that the consumer data right—

Government senators interjecting—