Sid Sidebottom (Braddon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Dawson for his spirited contribution to the debate on this important legislation. We live in interesting times indeed. I also rise to speak on the National Rental Affordability Scheme Bill 2008 and the National Rental Affordability Scheme (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2008. The National Rental Affordability Scheme is part of the government’s $2.2 billion affordable housing package, which has now risen by $1.5 billion—through the first home owners scheme extra measures announced most recently by the Prime Minister and the Treasurer—to total $3.7 billion of packaging to try to deal with the affordable housing issues that face our communities, to help people save for their first home, to lower housing infrastructure costs and to build new homes for the homeless.

Like all pieces of legislation before the House, the rental scheme bill attempts to deliver on one of the government’s key 2007 election commitments. We look to the other side to support our commitment to the Australian electorate by supporting this legislation. The National Rental Affordability Scheme will provide $623 million over four years to increase the supply of affordable rental housing across Australia and to lower rental costs for those already struggling to make ends meet. The funds will see the construction of 50,000 new affordable rental properties across Australia to help alleviate the current rental stress on medium- and low-income earners. This is something that all members in this House are aware of. These are people who we deal with on a daily basis in our offices and this is a pressure that is continuing to build in our community. There is also an option under this legislation to build a further 50,000 properties after 2012 if demand remains strong. I suspect, given the conditions that exist at the moment, that demand will continue to remain strong.

The eligibility requirements for the scheme are pertinent to my electorate of Braddon on Tasmania’s north-west coast. Eligibility will of course include people currently living on the pension, including aged pensioners, disability support pensioners and carers, all of whom were recipients of added assistance most recently announced by the Prime Minister and the Treasurer in the national Economic Security Strategy. The government has also extended eligibility to low-income working people, for example families where the main breadwinners earn only a modest wage.

This component will be welcomed in my home state of Tasmania where many pensioners live, where wages are traditionally lower when compared with the national wage and where single-income families are very common. This is particularly the case on the north-west coast. Tenants in these properties will still be eligible for rental assistance through Centrelink. This government predicts about 1.5 million households across the country will meet the eligibility criteria for this scheme. There are two big government incentives which will be delivered every year for 10 years for every new home built and then rented out at 20 per cent below the market rate in each particular area.

Firstly, the scheme will provide a $6,000 incentive from the federal government for each residence in the form of a refundable tax offset or payment. Secondly, the state and territory governments will provide $2,000 each year for each residence, which will be provided through a cash payment or in-kind financial support. The community housing sector will help with tenancy management of the new properties.

To talk about what this scheme will mean for my electorate I want to spend a bit of time looking at the current rental market in Tasmania in relation to the average income. In 2006 the census statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicated that the median weekly income for a Tasmanian aged 15 or above was about $398 after tax. Casual, part-time and full-time employment were combined to arrive at this statistic. This compared to about $466 on the mainland—I reiterate $398 after tax compared with $466 on the mainland. The median weekly family income was $1,032 in Tasmania compared with $1,171 throughout the remainder of Australia.

Debate interrupted.

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