Max Chandler-Mather (Griffith, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Labor remains committed to its housing fund to gamble $10 billion on the stock market, to only spend some of the returns on housing and, even in the best-case scenario, to only cover three per cent of the shortage in social and affordable housing. Given that, I have a new proposal for funding politicians' wages. Rather than pay politicians directly, we all only get paid if a series of investments on the stock market pay off. In months where it doesn't pay off—too bad!—none of us get paid, and even when it does pay off, the vast majority of us won't get a single dollar.

It's not a surprise that people over there don't like that idea. Who would have thought?

You can here them again! They hate it. I wonder why it is that everything from politicians wages to nuclear submarines and stadiums gets guaranteed adequate funding but all we get for public housing is this dodgy investment fund that will see the housing crisis get worse.

They keep yelling about the politicians' wages idea. People are fed up because Labor keeps telling us that all we can hope for is crumbs while it turns around and hands over billions of dollars in tax concessions to billionaires.

It's not unreasonable to suggest that in the middle of the worst housing crisis in generations the government should invest $5 billion a year directly to build public and affordable housing or use federal funding to coordinate a rent freeze. Maybe Labor should reflect on why people are angry that nuclear submarines get half a trillion dollars in guaranteed funding but housing doesn't get a cent.

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