Senator Bragg has submitted a proposal, under standing order 75, today, which has been circulated and is shown on the Dynamic Red:

The Government's failure on housing, including the Budget tax hikes that have smashed confidence and investment, and will result in fewer houses by design.

Is consideration of the proposal supported?

More than the number of senators required by the standing orders having risen in their places—

With the concurrence of the Senate, the clerks will set the clock in line with the informal arrangements made by the whips.

Thank you very much, Acting Deputy President. It's great to have a Tarong supporter in the chair this afternoon. Today, I want to talk about the Labor government's complete and abject failure on housing. After four long years of this government, we've seen a model of high tax, high red tape, high levels of corruption and a complete failure to meet the targets it set for itself. The government has no chance of ever meeting the housing targets it's set for itself—to be at 1.2 million houses over five years. The government has no chance of ever meeting the social and affordable housing targets it set for itself through the Housing Future Fund, which has had $10 billion and three years and has built fewer than a thousand houses, most of which it has purchased, not built.

The government has subjected the Australian people to this shocking model of failure. We see, on the ABS's own numbers, 30,000 fewer houses each year. That's right. After billions of dollars, the new taxes, the new red tape and the new everything else, we have fewer houses. For the housing minister and the Prime Minister and the Treasurer to walk around and brag about how much money they're spending on houses—that doesn't matter. What matters is how many houses you actually get. Just because you spend more money on things doesn't mean you get more things. I know it's not a particularly scientific concept, but it is a fact under this government.

We saw a budget that doubled down on that failed strategy and saddled this country with $77 billion of new taxes, not just on housing but on everything. I have still not heard a coherent explanation as to why there needs to be a 30 per cent tax on everything to solve a housing crisis. No coherent explanation has ever been provided as to why crypto, ETF, shares and whatever else need to be more highly taxed. That is one of the reasons that we have a sclerotic economy in this country.

What is the net result of this dreadful budget three months after it was given? If you look at supply, the government, by its own budget papers, admits there are 35,000 fewer houses, and there are even fewer houses when you take into account its ban on SMSFs investing to provide new properties. Why is the government restricting housing supply? That is a very good question. I think most Australians would say it's because the government has no brain.

We see an estimated $2 a week in rent increases. We've already seen projections of up to $250 a week increases in Sydney. And then we see perhaps the most telling stat of them all: home loans. We've seen a 15 per cent drop in loans to owner-occupiers since the budget. So there are fewer houses and higher rents: those are the results of this budget. When you look at all the indices, you can see that people's lives are getting harder and harder. You've got a question why the government has doubled down on this failed strategy. Why does it think that more taxes will give you more houses? It won't. It never will.

The most regrettable part of all this is that the people who can least afford to pay more in rent will suffer as a result of these policies. For the Prime Minister to publish his condescending, disgusting social media videos where he says, 'Have a great weekend'—people are over it. They know that this guy is completely out of touch, with his triumphal claim that he has solved the housing system problems by reducing housing supply and increasing rents. I think people are seeing through this as a completely failed approach.

The problem the Australian people have is that they've got at least another 18 months of this. After four years of a government that has completely failed on housing, has wasted more money on housing than any prior government and has presided over a corrupt model—where the CFMEU gets to set prices and where it increases taxes and increases regulation—they've got to suffer for another 18 months until we get an election. And the next election will be a referendum on the government's completely failed housing policies, because at the end of the day you can't have your own facts. The stats are the stats: 30,000 fewer houses, massive increases in rents and a reduction in overall supply numbers. That is making the Australian dream worse, not better.

Well, we have to admire Senator Bragg's energy. To come into this chamber and lecture the government about housing, after the coalition spent nearly a decade watching the problem get worse, takes some nerve. For most of that time, they didn't even bother having a housing minister. Now Senator Bragg has discovered housing. He's passionate about it—deeply concerned. He's got speeches, interviews, opinion pieces. At this rate he'll be launching a housing themed podcast and interviewing himself about the issue. What he still doesn't have is a practical housing policy.

Labor has a $47 billion housing agenda focused on building more homes, making renting fairer and helping Australians buy their first home. That is almost 10 times what the coalition invested during nearly a decade in government. We're working towards 1.2 million new homes. We're delivering 55,000 social and affordable rental homes and building 100,000 homes reserved for first home buyers. The budget includes another $2 billion for enabling infrastructure, unlocking 65,000 homes. That means pipes, roads, pavements and powerlines, because houses can't be built from press releases and vibes. We've expanded the five per cent deposit scheme to all first home buyers. We've launched Help to Buy, allowing eligible buyers to enter the market with a mortgage up to 40 per cent smaller. We're limiting negative gearing for residential property to new builds from 2027-28 and replacing the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount with inflation-adjusted indexation.

These reforms are expected to help around 75,000 first home buyers into the market over the next decade. What has the opposition done with all of this? They voted no on Help to Buy, voted no on the five per cent deposit scheme, voted no on the Housing Australia Future Fund, voted no on build to rent, and voted no on tens of thousands of social and affordable homes. The coalition has opposed so many housing measures that it's harder to work out what they're for than what they're against—although, I must say, they are remarkably consistent. If a policy might help build more homes, they'll vote against it.

Then they turn around and demand to know why the government isn't doing more. Senator Bragg, however, wasn't content with simply opposing solutions. When Australians wanted a fairer housing market, his only suggestion was that they 'need a new brain'—a bold diagnosis from someone whose party's housing proposal was, 'Have you considered emptying your super?' Young Australians have spent years working, saving and watching house prices skyrocket. Since 1999, prices have risen by 400 per cent, the median home costs more than eight times the average income, and saving a deposit can take more than a decade.

Apparently Senator Bragg looked at all of that and diagnosed a brain problem. I would suggest that the only smooth-brain antics are coming from that side of the chamber. The coalition went to the last election wanting Australians to raid their super to buy a home, to pump more money into the housing market while leaving people poorer in retirement. And now the old mate has suffered the ultimate indignity: One Nation has beaten him to it. Imagine making a tax on super such a central feature of your political career, only to wake up one morning and discover that One Nation has stolen your trick.

The Liberal/One Nation policy factory is clearly operating at max capacity. Unfortunately, quality control remains an issue. Analysis from the Super Members Council found a typical 30-year-old full-time worker could be around $25,000 worse off in retirement under One Nation's plan. Australians deserve better than Senator Bragg and One Nation competing to see who's better at depleting their super.

Labor wants young Australians to buy a home without sacrificing their retirement to do it. We're building homes and funding the infrastructure to unlock more of them. We're backing first home buyers and changing tax settings that have been stacked against young people for decades. Senator Bragg can keep firing off hot takes from the sidelines. After nearly a decade of a coalition government, Australians have already seen what happens when his side gets the keys. They definitely didn't build enough houses with them.

Debate interrupted.