Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of the National Rental Affordability Scheme Bill 2008 and the National Rental Affordability Scheme (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2008. I am particularly pleased to speak to this legislation, because every time the Minister for Housing introduces a bill into this House we are reminded that the opposition cared so little about housing affordability when they were in government that they never even had a housing minister. It also reminds us that the Howard-Costello government ripped millions of dollars out of the Commonwealth-State Housing Agreement, leaving public housing desperately underfunded around the country and thousands of Australians homeless or in housing stress.

Terms like ‘homeless’ or ‘housing stress’ flow easily from the tongue; however, having previously worked on the board of Kyabra Community Association, a community organisation in my electorate that looks after people in stress and provides community housing, I know that they are not just words, that we are talking about real lives, real misery, real limited opportunities. It is easy to condemn it in this House, but the Howard-Costello government needs to be forever condemned for what it did to the marginalised when it came to housing.

I was interested to receive a letter from Shelter Western Australia, a community organisation, with the following comments from Roger Raven, the chairman:

The Australian Government’s subsidies to the states and territories are important for the viability of their public and non-profit housing programs. The Howard Government stripped $3.5 billion from the CSHA.

He then seeks support for a few things. It is interesting to see how the effects flowed through not just to South-East Queensland but all over the country. We can no longer live in denial. Australia is facing a housing affordability crisis and it requires a multipronged response. So I welcome the announcement last week by the Prime Minister and the Treasurer to increase the first home buyers grant to $14,000 for first home buyers of an existing home and to $21,000 for first home buyers constructing a new home. That is incredible news, which was very well received by people at my weekend street stall. At the Rocklea markets I had numerous people come up and congratulate us. A few people said they wished it had happened the week before, just before they signed a contract—but we cannot make everybody happy. This incentive will enable many young people to realise their dream of home ownership. For too long the great Australian dream of owning some bricks and mortar—your own home, although in Queensland it might not be of bricks and mortar but of timber—has slipped towards a nightmare. Now we can turn that dream back into a reality.

But this is just the tip of the iceberg. The Rudd government is also investing $512 million over five years to help cut the planning and infrastructure costs of new housing developments. We have set up first home saver accounts to help young people save for their own home. At the street stall at the weekend, as I just said, and at Sunnybank Hills the month before I had numerous people come up and ask about the first home saver accounts. I had parents coming up with their children, who were in their late teens to early 20s, to ask what it was about, how they could do it and what they needed to do. Over the next five years the Rudd government will spend $150 million to build up to 600 new houses and units for individuals and families who would otherwise be sleeping rough.

And we are implementing the National Rental Affordability Scheme. The scheme provides $623 million to help create 50,000 new affordable rental properties across Australia. Under the scheme, low- and moderate-income families will be able to rent a dwelling at 20 per cent below market rates. To fully appreciate the significance of this measure, it is good to have a clear idea of just how much rents have increased in recent years. Back in September 2003—not that long ago—the median weekly rent for a two-bedroom unit in the city of Brisbane was $270. In September 2008 it was $425, up almost 60 per cent in just five years. That is an extra $155 to be found every week. It is the same story in regional Queensland. Let us take as an example the electorate of my colleague James Bidgood, the member for Dawson. In the city of Mackay, for example, a three-bedroom house will now set you back $380 per week. Back in 2003 its rent was only $170 per week. Why didn’t I buy property in Mackay back in 2003! We are talking about an increase of more than 120 per cent in the cost of renting a three-bedroom home in five years. That is an extra $210 per week.

Is it any wonder that families, pensioners and carers are struggling to meet these costs? Is it any wonder that young people are struggling to save a deposit to buy their own home? That is especially the case with country kids who come to the city looking for opportunity and perhaps cannot stay with their parents, so they are forced to go into the rental market. I do not get to the movies very often in this job but the other day I got to see a movie called Step Brothers, which is about two people staying at home who are in their 40s but act like children. Maybe that is the sort of civilisation we are developing, especially in some of our big cities, where people have to stay at home and their parents cannot get rid of them because they cannot afford to get into the rental market or, heaven forbid, the housing market.

The Rudd government is aware of the pain that these rent hikes are causing many Australians, and the National Rental Affordability Scheme is about providing some relief to and reducing rental costs for low-income families. The scheme encourages investment in affordable rental housing by offering incentives to developers. The Commonwealth will provide $6,000 per year per dwelling and the states and territories will contribute $2,000 per year per dwelling. These incentives will be available for 10 years.

This model has had tremendous success in Queensland on a small scale through the Brisbane Housing Company. The Brisbane Housing Company is a not-for-profit organisation set up by the Queensland Department of Housing, Brisbane City Council, local charities and community groups to provide affordable housing at below market rents to low-income families. Since the company was set up, in 2002, it has built more than 600 dwellings. As I said, charities, community groups, the state government and Brisbane City Council got together to do the right thing by people who are suffering housing stress.

The legislation before the House provides the legislative framework to enable the National Rental Affordability Scheme to be implemented. It amends the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to enable those participating in the scheme to claim a refundable tax offset and to ensure that state and territory contributions are excluded as income or capital gains for tax purposes. The legislation also allows for the scheme to be developed by regulations. The draft was released last week.

As we have seen in recent weeks, economic circumstances can change only too quickly. This legislation provides the flexibility to enable the scheme to be amended and adapted as needed, depending on the global and local economic circumstances. Market rent, tenant eligibility criteria, acceptable vacancy periods and reporting requirements will evolve through regulation as required.

Public housing and rent assistance have helped millions of low-income families throughout the country; however, these measures alone can no longer meet the demand for affordable housing. This is a completely new and innovative way of boosting market supply of affordable housing and supporting low-income families. I am fortunate enough to have close connections with a couple of builders, both as friends and people in my electorate, and they are certainly very supportive of this scheme. My office has sent out information about the scheme to them and they have received it very positively. Once again, I thank the housing minister and the Treasurer for introducing this legislation and I commend it to the House.

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