Alicia Payne (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm really pleased to have the opportunity to rise to speak on this matter of public importance. I'm finding some of the statements by those opposite just absolutely laughable. There's the hypocrisy, after 10 years in government, of asking, 'What is your plan?' We have done more in the last six months for this country than they did in nearly a decade. That was a government—it actually goes beyond party politics—that was beneath the office of governing.

They were not taking responsibility for anything and they had lost any interest in what was important to the Australian people. They were not looking after their interests; they were looking after their own interests. Everything they did was about an announcement and trying to stay in government. They were becoming increasingly desperate and, in May this year, the Australian people spoke. As a great man once said, when you change the government you change the country. And we have seen that already in the less-than-six months that the Albanese Labor government has been in government. We have not wasted a day—we have not wasted a minute—in making the changes that we need in order to start building a better future for Australians.

In our budget, handed down a couple of weeks ago, we are looking at delivering cost-of-living relief that doesn't increase inflation. We are looking at making child care cheaper for Australian families. We have extended paid parental leave. We are investing in housing and we are investing in renewable energy, to take the climate action we need and to reduce power prices. On their watch, I think there were 22—or was it 23; there were more than 20—energy policies and they couldn't land one. So they have landed this country in the mess that we inherited as a government, and we're just beginning to address that. And we have achieved so much, I have to say, in such a short time.

This matter of public importance which they raised today is about mortgages, and I'm really pleased to talk about the Albanese Labor government's agenda on housing. This was a huge part of the platform that we took to the election and a huge part of our agenda. It's really important, because, as we all know, people in our electorates are struggling with the cost of housing. I do feel for those in the opposition; they've come in here and have to try to say something. After 10 years of delivering nothing in this regard, it must be difficult. But I have to say: the hypocrisy is a little bit hard to take when they ask what our plan is.

What was their plan to help Australians with housing? Their plan was to let young people rob their own retirement savings. This was the great idea of the former member for Goldstein, Tim Wilson, and they adopted it in the dying days of the 2022 election. They genuinely wanted Australians to rob from their future selves to pay for their housing. There are many reasons why that policy was a very bad idea, but one of the main ones is that it was actually going to increase demand without increasing supply. I'll give you a quick lesson in economics 101: if you are going to increase demand without increasing supply, prices will go up and mortgages will go up. So the housing market really dodged a bullet in May this year and the Australian people made the right choice if they want to see the housing crisis in this country addressed.

Affordable housing is central to the security and dignity of all Australians. It is tough to buy a home now—tougher than ever before—and research by the Grattan Institute has found that 40 years ago almost 60 per cent of young Australians on low and modest incomes owned their own homes. Sadly, that is now only 28 per cent. That is why we are taking the action that is needed.

Our housing minister has revealed that, in the month since the launch of our regional housing policy on 1 October, more than 360 regional Australians have already taken advantage of the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee. This is a guarantee that helps regional Australians with a deposit of as little as five per cent to buy a home— (Time expired)

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