Anne McEwen (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

At the request of Senator Lines, I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that Ruah Community Services has coordinated Perth’s third Registry Week, held between 8 February and 19 February 2016, with teams of trained volunteers surveying rough-sleeping homeless people, with the aim of providing the sector a current snapshot of who is homeless in these areas and what are their needs;

(b) commends the City of Perth, the City of Vincent, the Town of Victoria Park, the City of Kwinana, the City of Rockingham, the City of Joondalup and the City of Wanneroo for their participation in the survey; and

(c) condemns the Abbott-Turnbull Government for its inaction on homelessness and affordable housing.

Scott Ryan (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Scott Ryan (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Commonwealth currently spends around $6 billion of taxpayer funds annually on housing assistance and homelessness services. Labor pretend that housing affordability can be fixed overnight with a tax increase, but the fact is they failed to deliver on housing affordability in six years of government. Labor failed to provide funding for the National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness beyond 30 June 2014. Labor's National Rental Affordability Scheme was poorly designed and poorly managed, and has fallen well short of expectations. Economic modelling released today states that Labor's housing affordability policy would push up average rents by $2,600 a year, push 70,000 households into rental stress and increase the housing shortage.

Sue Lines (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Sue Lines (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Like most of what we hear from those opposite, what we just heard then was a load of rubbish. This government has done absolutely nothing to reduce homelessness or, indeed, anything on affordable housing.

To add insult to injury, it does not even have a housing minister. Every year since this government has been elected homelessness and affordable housing groups have had to come to this place, cap in hand, and beg for ongoing funding. This is a disgrace. Some of the most vulnerable in our communities are being left behind.

I certainly congratulate the work being done in Western Australia, but it would be a lot easier if the government had lived up to its commitments and done something about housing affordability, as Labor has with our negative-gearing policy. And secondly, it should have done something about the ever-increasing rate of homelessness.

It is a disgrace, particularly in my home state—but right across the country. Those opposite—the Turnbull government—have done nothing.

Question agreed to.