Jason Clare (Blaxland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Services, Territories and Local Government) Share this | Hansard source

It was more than that, Labor Leader Anthony Albanese; it was 80,000—20,000 new homes and 80,000 homes renovated or repaired. It saved the jobs of lots of tradies and it helped stave off a recession. Compare that to what the government is doing here. You've got a crisis that is arguably bigger than it was during the GFC. The government's own documents say that the construction industry is being hit harder. More jobs are at risk. This is not about staving off a recession; we're already in a recession. What the government has put together in this HomeBuilder package is less than one-tenth of the rescue package we delivered for the industry during the GFC—so, bigger problem, smaller rescue package. That is why organisations like Credit Suisse have said, 'We doubt that the incentives delivered are large enough, nor the eligibility criteria wide enough to really move the needle.'

Unlike anything we did, there is nothing in here to help people who don't even have a roof over their heads. I think the last few months have reminded us all just how important a safe and affordable home is. We've all been told to stay at home. It's what has kept us safe. It is our homes that have provided the shield to protect us from the virus. Australians experiencing homelessness, people sleeping rough in our parks and streets, have been provided a home. They have been put into empty hotel and motel rooms. But that's all temporary and is set to end. There are more Aussies today who are homeless than ever before. That's what the census said. That stereotype of the average homeless person being an old bloke on a park bench with a bottle of grog in a brown paper bag is just not true. What do you think the largest group of Australians who are homeless is? It's mums and kids, fleeing domestic violence, trying to get a home for the night and getting knocked back because there's no bed. Which group of Australians do you think is the fastest growing group of homeless Australians at the moment? It is older women, those in the 55 to 65 age group. That could be our mum, our aunties or our sisters. Believe it or not, tonight, one in 10 Australians sleeping rough in Sydney are probably going to be veterans—somebody who wears medals on Anzac Day and sleeps in the park at night. There's nothing in this package for them, which is why the OECD this week said that we should be doing something here.

It could have been a win-win. We could have created homes for people who need them the most and created thousands and thousands of jobs for tradies. But we didn't get that. Instead, what we got was this: 'Renovation rescue for tradies' jobs'. That was on the front page of The Australian last Monday. I reckon there would have been a lot of people waking up and thinking, 'Well, I want to renovate the bathroom and the kitchen. Happy days, I'll be able to get some help here!' The Prime Minister encouraged that way of thinking, because he said, 'If you’ve been putting off that renovation, the extra 25 grand we're putting on the table now means it's time to get started.' It turns out that it's all rubbish. You see, if you want a new kitchen or a new dunny, it's easy; you just have to bulldoze the whole house. You've got to look at the detail. To qualify for this scheme, you've got to spend more than 150,000 bucks on the reno—$150,000 to $750,000 on a renovation—and you've got to earn less than $125,000 a year. I don't know about you, Mr Deputy Speaker Llew O'Brien, but I don't know a lot of people who have a lazy 150 grand laying around to lob into a renovation. I asked the Treasurer about this on Tuesday. I asked, 'How many people are going to be winners out of this renovation rescue?' The answer was 7,000. That's it—7,000 people. It's more 'Scotty Sham' than Scotty Cam, and that's why it has been almost universally bagged across the media.

I gave the minister some examples in question time today, from Domain. But it doesn't end there. I quote from a Daily Telegrapharticle titled 'Battler's hammer reno cash':

Prime Minister Scott Morrison's $688 million HomeBuilder plan has been slammed as a "kick in the guts" to Aussie battlers.

From The Weekend Australian: 'HomeBuilder doesn't go far enough for tradies'. From The Courier-Mail: 'Locals shun reno scheme'. Here's another one from The Courier-Mail: 'Concerns HomeBuilder scheme won't help the construction industry'. This is one from news.com.au: 'Scott Morrison's HomeBuilder scheme declared a "dud" that will make the well-off richer and fail to save construction jobs'.

This has gone off quicker than a seafood milkshake. Australians aren't stupid; they can see through the spin and see through slogan after slogan after slogan. They've worked it out; they've realised there's not much in this for them. I can't think of a better example where a government has developed this cynical marketing ploy to try to create the impression that they're doing something to help people instead of actually doing something to help.

This renovation rescue is only going to help a lucky few. Everyone else is left behind. The people who need a roof over their head—left behind. The mums and kids fleeing domestic violence—left behind. Thousands and thousands of tradies who need extra work—left behind. Worst of all, thousands of people who had their homes burned down could potentially miss out on the scheme. We couldn't get that guarantee from the Prime Minister today. That's why I say this is 'HomeBlunder'. The government has stuffed this up. We're in a recession. Thousands of jobs are at risk, and this government needs to take action to protect these jobs. (Time expired)

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