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

We're talking about 30,000 social and affordable rental homes that we want to get on the ground as soon as possible and that you're saying no to. You voted no in this House and you're saying no to it in the Senate. Seriously, we've got 4,000 of those homes for women and children fleeing family violence and for older women at risk of homelessness. Some of that housing is for veterans who are at risk of homelessness, and you are saying 'no' when we want to put more houses on the ground.

After a decade of little action, we are trying to turn this around. We've invested $575 million immediately, we had the National Housing Accord in our first budget and we have a bill in the Senate, and you're blocking it. We've had more measures in the budget, just two days ago, for build-to-rent—an additional $2 billion for Housing Australia to do more social and affordable housing. We continue to invest in housing. We've got homes on the ground today, which you don't support, and we want to do more with the Housing Australia Future Fund. Instead, we've got you, with the Greens, forming this 'no-alition' of no homes. You don't want any homes on the ground when it comes to social and affordable housing. Seriously! You need to actually get your senators in the Senate to support this bill, allow us to bring on the debate and have a vote. If you were serious about what's going on when it comes to housing and if you were serious about those Australians doing it tough, you would support the bill in the Senate.

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