Dai Le (Fowler, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

(1) Clause 65, page 48 (line 24), omit "2028", substitute "2025".

I would like to thank the minister for giving me the opportunity to talk with her about this bill. I had hoped that the request to have the review period shortened would have been taken on board. This amendment to the Housing Australia Future Fund Bill ensures there is a timely review process in which we should be able to see the effectiveness of the bill in two years, not five years. Not every piece of legislation is perfect. Sometimes we get the processes wrong.

I thank PowerHousing Australia, St George Community Housing, Hume Housing and Evolve Housing for their consultation with me on the bill. As PowerHousing and Evolve Housing have rightly pointed out, housing funds can get misappropriated and used for the wrong reasons. They pointed to the National Rental Affordability Scheme, which was aimed at mum and dad investors but was ultimately taken advantage of by private development companies. Due to the loopholes, the scheme has gained a bad reputation when it really needed adjusting so it could ultimately benefit the most needy and vulnerable whilst supporting mum and dad investors.

While the scheme wasn't perfect, the end of the scheme could mean that 36,000 houses will no longer provide subsidised rent for tenants and will most likely be sold or rented out at a higher price. This will result in 36,000 families who could be left out in the lurch. I reiterate that Evolve Housing told me in my consultation for this bill: 'Even if the stars align and we miraculously get the 36,000 properties in the next five years, the net impact will be close to zero without the NRAS.' This is just one example of poorly regulated policies from a decade ago that are impacting families today. In my conversations with the Urban Development Institute of Australia, they recommended a one-year review process, but after discussion with you and your office, Minister, we believe this could be far too short. I completely appreciate it will take some time to set this fund up and have it ready for community-housing providers to access. Yes, I agree we need to have housing solutions not just for now but for the future, but we need to make sure we get this right before there are unintended consequences that could ultimately impact the most vulnerable in our communities.

While I understand that these houses are very unlikely to be built within a two-year period, we are talking about a huge sum of money, $10 billion, that the government is putting aside for this bill. It's only fair that we can closely analyse the allocation of funds in the next two years, particularly as it pertains to grants and if there is ministerial discretion involved. A review after five years could see many things go wrong, and by that point it will too late.

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