Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Small Business) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member opposite for his question. The Albanese government does understand that safe and affordable housing is central to the security and dignity of all Australians, and we want every Australian to have the security of a roof over their head. Indeed, the National Rental Affordability Scheme provided rental accommodation to around 55,000 Australians but was abolished by the former government eight years ago. Eight years ago they cancelled NRAS, and homes have been leaving the scheme since 2018, when the 10-year agreement started to expire, without any plan to replace the homes.

There's no sugar-coating that rental affordability challenges exist, which is why we have our $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund which we introduced into the parliament today. The NRAS scheme is a perfect example, though, of the neglect those opposite showed to housing over the last decade.

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