Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

We've been in the midst of a housing crisis for far too long in this country. Right now people are struggling to find an affordable roof over their head, whether that's buying a home or renting a home. It should not be this hard for people in Australia to find a place to live. It is beyond time for action and for real partnerships across all levels of government, industry and community to solve this problem. That's what this suite of housing legislation goes to today—to solving this problem.

We're a great country, but it is to our shame that homelessness is increasing in this country. We must do better to leave nobody behind. This reform is about making sure we don't leave people behind and building a better future for everyone, which is of course what the Albanese Labor government committed to do when we were elected.

There are many young families and students living in my electorate of Chisholm. They are enrolled at Monash and Deakin universities. They are desperately worried about where they will live, particularly as we see the return of international students to our community. The housing crisis is acutely felt by particular cohorts in my community. I'm looking forward to seeing more houses built so that people are able to enjoy the time they spend at university and spend in my community.

People raise with me the issue of needing good, affordable housing all the time. It is really important to me, and I'm so glad that these bills are actually doing something about this problem, which we have seen grow over time. A few months ago I welcomed the Treasurer to Chisholm and I introduced him to the Ashburton, Ashwood and Chadstone Public Tenants Group and the Ashwood Chadstone Partnership Group, which includes charities, service providers, Neighbourhood Houses and local councils. We had a really wonderful roundtable to discuss what we need to do together to ensure we have resilient communities and to make sure that we are providing homes for people who need them, especially those who are marginalised in the community or who might find accessing housing more difficult for a range of reasons, such as escaping family and domestic violence. The housing accord and this local roundtable was a really significant moment for my community and for our nation.

Our government understands that safe and affordable housing is central to the security and dignity of Australians. We have seen growing rents, the struggle to buy a home and the increase of homelessness. This is an ambitious reform. This is about making sure Australians have a safe and affordable place to call home. This housing legislation package is a comprehensive suite of measures to build more social and affordable homes. It enables one of the most significant Australian government investments in housing in a generation, and we are not wasting a moment in doing what we can to build the houses that people in our communities desperately need.

These bills implement our commitment to establish the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund to provide a stream of funding to ensure there is a pipeline of new social and affordable housing for Australians in need. This will transform the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation into Housing Australia as the national home for key housing programs and expand its activities. These bills establish the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council to provide independent advice to government on ways to increase housing supply and affordability.

These commitments are part of our broader housing reform agenda. We have reached our landmark National Housing Accord, which is a shared ambition to build a million well-located homes over five years from 2024, with $350 million as well in additional Commonwealth funding to deliver 10,000 affordable homes over five years from 2024, matched by the states with another 10,000 homes.

We have widened the remit of the National Housing Infrastructure Facility and made up to $575 million immediately available to invest in social and affordable housing. We are developing a national housing and homelessness plan to set short-, medium- and long-term goals to improve housing outcomes across Australia. The help-to-buy program will reduce the cost of buying a home and help people into a home sooner.

To solve the problem of housing affordability and the shortfall in supply of housing in this country requires action. That is what these bills go to. We are taking responsibility for people in our communities by making sure we have a vision for not just now and the medium term but the long term of this country. I am really pleased and proud to support these bills today.

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