Nita Green (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Tourism) | Link to this | Hansard source

While those on the opposite side of the chamber seek to divide everyday Australians and denigrate Australian workers, our government is concentrating and focusing on delivering for everyday Australians. The work that we are doing in northern Australia to increase housing supply is something that I am incredibly proud of and something that we continue to work hard at every single day.

When we talk about northern Australia we often talk about its enormous potential, but unlocking that potential requires investment, confidence and a government willing to back the north for the long term. That's exactly why the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility is so important. The NAIF has become one of the most effective tools we have to support projects that deliver real benefits to northern communities—not just roads and ports but the infrastructure that helps people build their lives in the north.

That's an important point, because there was a time when people questioned whether the NAIF was capable of delivering. Under the former Liberal-National government, NAIF was often referred to as the 'no actual infrastructure fund', and, despite the fact that NAIF had been headquartered in Cairns since its inception, Cairns went years without seeing a single local project supported through the facility. It took an Albanese Labor government to change that. Today we're seeing NAIF deliver exactly what it was established to do: unlocking investment, supporting regional communities and helping build the future of northern Australia.

Nowhere is that more important than housing. Today, one of the biggest challenges facing regional Australia is housing. When there isn't enough housing, it becomes harder for businesses to attract workers, for essential services to recruit staff and for communities to grow. If we want communities to grow, businesses to expand and regional economies to thrive, then we need more homes. That's why it's so significant that some of the first Cairns projects supported by NAIF have been focused on exactly that: building more social and affordable housing.

In Cairns, NAIF is helping to deliver 490 social and affordable homes. In Townsville, a $42 million NAIF loan is supporting the delivery of 81 social and affordable homes. Again, these are exactly the types of projects that might struggle to secure finance but deliver enormous benefits to their communities. In Darwin, NAIF is supporting a new Charles Darwin University student accommodation project in the CBD that will provide housing for 402 students, because access to education should not depend on whether you can find somewhere to live. Students need somewhere safe, secure and affordable to stay while they study. That investment will support students, strengthen Darwin's CBD and help grow the Northern Territory's future workforce.

These are exactly the kinds of projects NAIF was created to support, but only under the Albanese Labor government are they being delivered. We're delivering projects that might not otherwise have got off the ground, projects that create jobs during construction and projects that leave behind infrastructure that serves communities for decades to come.

These investments form part of the Albanese Labor government's broader agenda to tackle the housing crisis in Australia. We're delivering the $47 million Homes for Australia plan. We're investing in more social and affordable housing. We're supporting enabling infrastructure, in places like Cairns, so that new housing developments can proceed. I was so proud to stand next to the member for Leichhardt, Matt Smith, to announce in Mount Peter, just days after the federal budget was delivered, that we will be delivering the Mount Peter residential plan.

We're making it easier for first home buyers to get into a home sooner, and we're increasing housing supply because we know there is no single solution to the housing challenge. We need to invest in infrastructure that makes those developments possible. But every single time our government has sought to make it easier for Australians to own their own home, those opposite—the Liberal, National and One Nation parties—have voted against those changes. Time and time again, the Liberal, National and One Nation coalition have voted against measures to support more homes for Australians.

The Albanese Labor government is investing in northern Australia. We're investing in the infrastructure the communities need to grow. We are ensuring that NAIF can continue to do exactly what it does best: back projects that deliver real outcomes for people in the north.

Varun Ghosh (WA, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

We are now moving into two-minute statements.