Anne Stanley (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Australia is in the midst of a worsening housing affordability crisis, and the government is too out of touch to do anything about it. The Australian housing affordability crisis has been mounting for years now, with the pressure particularly on those who might be struggling financially and who are already the first to feel the pinch.

We know that homeownership rates for young Australians have collapsed to their lowest level in 30 years. Fewer than 40 per cent now own their own home, compared to 60 per cent a generation ago. My region in the growing south-west Sydney is home to a number of young families who are doing their best to find affordable housing in the Sydney housing market. Many sacrifice valuable time together to put a roof over their head. My area is a long way from the Sydney CBD, which is where most people go to work, and many local commuters spend well in excess of an hour travelling each way to and from work. With over 13 per cent of households with mortgages in Werriwa now experiencing housing stress, this being well above the national average, we see that even the once more affordable south-west Sydney is becoming out of reach.

Despite the obvious signs that the situation is approaching crisis point, the government's response appears to be high on rhetoric and low on solutions that will actually address housing affordability. Despite claiming that measures to address housing affordability were the centrepiece of their last budget, one year on the government's contradictory measures have delivered no relief for the locals in my area. I know this because I see it each day. Florence and Suresh, a couple who recently approached me, have been finding it extremely difficult in the private rental market between rising rent, cost-of-living pressures and a fixed wage. They have been on the waiting list for social housing for a staggering 17 years. The fact that they've had to wait for so long can only be seen as a failure. They've been very patient, but the stress and fatigue that this has placed on them means that they are now considering leaving our local area. People should be able to afford to live comfortably in our major cities. It's as simple as that. Yet those opposite, while acknowledging the concerns of others, don't seem to view action as a priority; instead they choose to window dress while the situation facing many of our Australians, like my constituents, becomes more and more dire.

The quality of housing is another matter. Much of Sydney's social housing has been allowed to decay into disrepair with the expectation of wide-scale renewal that never arrives. Another constituent I met with recently has mobility difficulties and lives in social housing on the eight floor of an apartment building. She experiences constant anxiety about what would happen if there was a fire, in which event she would be unable to use the lift. Her disabilities make it impossible for her to use the stairs. She's been placed on a priority housing list, but even that is years long, and she's been advised again and again there's simply not anything available that is appropriate to her needs. The simple fact is that there is more that has to be done.

The government has no housing minister, no national plan to tackle rising homelessness and, a full year after announcing the new National Housing and Homelessness Agreement, has yet to reach agreement with any of the states and territories. My question to the minister, through you, Chair, is: how many more affordable rental properties does Australia need in order to address the current shortage, and how many Australian households are experiencing rental stress?

How many additional affordable rental houses will the proposed National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation deliver?

I'd also like to ask some questions on another subject dear to the residents of my electorate: carers' respite funding. Can the minister confirm how much the government has allocated for short-term, emergency and planned respite for each year between 2017-18 and 2020-21? Is it correct that total funding over that time frame for short-term and emergency respite is around $89.4 million? Given the fact that in the financial year 2015-16 the government allocated $60.298 million in funding for short-term and emergency respite, the logical conclusion is that fewer carers are now available to access this crucial service. Can the minister confirm that this is a cut and explain why he has reduced the yearly amount of funding the government provides for emergency carer respite?

See this speech in context