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

Let me be clear for the benefit of the member for Indi. This government does understand the significance of homelessness, and we do understand that it's not just an issue of housing affordability but also of access. The fact is that we've got far too few homes in this country for people to live in, whether you're working or not. We recognise it. We know it's a major issue, and we will work with state and territory governments and all stakeholders to tackle this massive issue head on.

It is a massive issue. The member for Indi has identified it very well. But I'm proud to be a member of a government led by the Prime Minister who understands, from personal experience, the importance of safe and affordable housing. He has lived experience of this issue. He grew up in social housing in Sydney, and he is leading a government committed to improving housing in Australia. Anybody who's listened to the Prime Minister would know of the importance of safe and secure shelter for people being able to get on with their lives. He recognises this down to his bones, and he's leading a government that takes this issue very seriously. We've elevated the portfolios of housing and homelessness into cabinet. Such is our commitment to ensuring this issue gets the ventilation it requires.

I'm also proud of the work that the Minister for Housing and Minister for Homelessness—my friend and fellow Tasmanian the member for Franklin, Julie Collins—is doing in this area. From day one the minister has jumped right in and worked hard to deal with issues that we as a government and as a nation are facing within the scope of these portfolios. As soon she was sworn in, the minister hosted a meeting of housing ministers from across the country and made strong first steps in addressing the challenges across Australia. This was a significant moment. It was the first time in almost five years that Australia's housing ministers had sat in a room together to discuss the issues facing our country and how governments could work together to deal with them. This will not be the last time they meet either. The housing ministers will meet again in the coming days to continue these discussions.

In my electorate of Lyons, as in most of Tasmania—and, indeed, in the member for Indi's electorate—people are struggling with high rents, unaffordability, inaccessibility, inability to secure finance from banks due to the need for high deposits, and, of course, tradie shortages. We said last week that we were releasing $575 million, but, frankly, there's a shortage of labour. We could release money into the economy right now to build homes, but there's nobody to build them. The critical supplies aren't there, and the supplies that are there have gone up between 40 and 50 per cent in cost. If you talk to any builder or to any tradie who's working in construction, you will find that these are the issues they face. We know we've got a construction boom going on. They can't keep up with the demand, but prices have gone so far out of kilter that, at the same time we have a construction boom, we have construction firms going bust. It's an awful situation that the country's facing, and there's no easy solution. But we are committed to tackling it.

I join with the member for Indi in agreeing that we have not built enough homes in the public sector, in the social housing sector, for decades. I can certainly look at the last nine years, under the previous government, but, frankly, it goes beyond that, and I won't pretend that it doesn't. I think that for decades federal governments and, particularly, state governments of all stripes have dropped the ball big time on housing, particularly affordable housing. They've left it to the charity sector and to the private sector, thinking that's a problem they don't need to deal with, and now it's facing us starkly

Housing is one of the issues in my electorate—cost of living and health being the other two—that keep me awake at night. The once renowned Australian dream of owning your own home is now but a pipedream for many young Tasmanians and many other young Australians. There has been a massive failure by governments of the past to ensure that people can get into the housing market and live in secure and affordable housing.

The Albanese Labor government is fighting to turn this historic neglect around and focusing on providing for Australians. We made it clear during the election that we are serious about tackling the housing crisis—and it is a housing crisis. We brought to the people our housing reform agenda, which included the development of a national housing and homelessness plan. It's something we remain committed to. It's 30,000 homes over five years. Sure, that's not enough—I'm not going to pretend that it is—but it's a start, and it's certainly a lot more than we had under the previous government. It's an indication of how seriously we are taking this issue.

I thank the member for Indi for bringing on this motion. It's an important issue for regional Australia. We need more houses, and I join with her in hoping to get as many as possible built as soon as we can.

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