Brian Mitchell (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Few things in life are more important than shelter. This bill, the Social Services Legislation Amendment (Housing Affordability) Bill 2017, seeks to extend the voluntary Rent Deduction Scheme so that rent can be deducted automatically from social security payments, including Newstart, pensions and family tax benefits. Importantly, Tasmania has not agreed to participate in this scheme, and neither have Victoria and the ACT.

A form of compulsory rent deduction was a recommendation from the Road Home homelessness white paper, which the former Labor government commissioned. The former Labor government introduced legislation to enable a compulsory rent deduction scheme, which did not proceed when the coalition came to power. I remind the House that the member for Menzies, who was the then coalition housing shadow minister, complained that Labor's bill would have driven people into housing stress. It's worth remembering that, back then, the coalition's policy on all Labor legislation was to oppose it, no matter the merits of it. I wouldn't mind seeing the member for Menzies come into this House and explain how he could oppose that bill but support this bill, which goes so much further. What a stark contrast between the Liberals in 2013 and the constructive approach of our side under the leadership of the member for Maribyrnong. We have been a constructive opposition. We have approved government legislation that we agreed with, we have sought to amend what we think could be improved and we have opposed what we do not support. That is the way this parliament is mean to work.

The fact is that the Liberals' record on affordable housing has been absolutely abysmal. We've got here the Liberal record to date, and it is stark. They've failed on so many fronts. The Abbott-Turnbull, now Morrison, government's record on homelessness is that it cut $44 million a year in capital funding for homelessness services in its first budget. In its first budget, it affected some of the most vulnerable people in the country. It failed to provide funding certainty under the National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness. It defunded Homelessness Australia, National Shelter and the Community Housing Industry Association to prevent them advocating for homeless Australians. It abolished the National Housing Supply Council and the Prime Minister's Council on Homelessness. It failed to appoint a dedicated minister for housing and homeless. It is now threatening funding cuts for remote Indigenous housing. It's an abysmal record, and this bill, while it goes some way towards addressing housing affordability and people's ability to stay in public housing, does not do nearly enough to address five years of failure.

Five years after the Liberals came to office—five years—we now have this bill before the House, drawing on the work done by Labor in 2013 but going so much further and incorporating some really nasty stuff, frankly. There are some real punches to the gut, which this government seems all too ready, all the time, to dish out to the poorest and most vulnerable people in this country. It is little wonder that our shadow minister seeks to attach to this bill an amendment that notes the government's manifest failure to address housing affordability. For five years, we've had budget cuts and inaction. We've had five years of making it harder for people to secure affordable housing.

There are some stark differences between this bill and the bill that the former Labor government presented to this parliament. Labor's bill to allow compulsory deductions would have applied only to tenants in rental arrears. This bill applies to all tenants whose income is supplied in whole or in part by social security. Labor's bill would have ensured that tenants were informed when deductible amounts were to be varied; this bill does not require that tenants be notified. Labor's bill limited deductions to rent, rental arrears and household utilities, and we agreed with domestic violence advocates who argued that allowing deductions for property damage could impact victims of domestic violence.

This bill allows for deductions to compensate for loss of or damage to property, and this is of particular concern. It's often women who put their names on the lease, and they're the ones who end up being legally lumbered with the bill when damage is caused through no fault of their own. I do understand the need for people to be responsible and accountable, but domestic violence is complex, and tackling it requires tact. It cannot be addressed with blunt instruments such as this.

Labor's approach, both with this bill and on housing and homelessness in general, is in stark contrast to the government's. We put people first. We value people. We want to help people take part in society, not kick them while they are down.

Homelessness is a real issue. On the most recent census night, 116,427 people reported being homeless, nearly 14,000 people more than in 2011. The number of people experiencing homelessness has risen by 13.7 per cent since 2011. The rate of people experiencing homelessness has increased by 4.6 per cent over the last five years. This government crows about a growing economy, about growth and jobs, and yet we've got some of the most vulnerable people in our country experiencing homelessness and not having a roof over their head. That rate should be going down, not up.

In Tasmania, my home state, homelessness continues to be a serious problem, and it affects people across all ages. The census in 2016 showed that 1,622 Tasmanians are homeless, more than half of them in the south and mainly in Hobart.

Most homelessness is hidden. Only eight per cent of homeless people sleep rough. This is worth saying because people think of homelessness as some poor guy sleeping on a park bench. It's much more complex than that. It's kids on Newstart or the jobseeking payments who can't afford rent. They can't stay in a share house. They couch surf. They move from place to place. It's insidious. It makes it much harder for people to find work and stay in work.

Homelessness costs the economy. It costs society and it costs the individuals, but it also costs the economy. So Labor will support the passage of this bill through this House, but we do intend seeing it referred to a Senate committee for a deep inquiry into its impacts, and I look forward to seeing what the recommendations of that inquiry are.

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