Alicia Payne (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

A secure home is the foundation for a better future. All Australians have a right to a roof over their head, but for too many housing is simply just unaffordable, including here in Canberra where we have some of the highest housing costs in the country. That's why the Albanese Labor government is taking action.

Over the weekend the Prime Minister announced that the Australian Capital Territory will receive an extra $50 million from the $2 billion Social Housing Accelerator payment. These new funds will be provided to the territory with the flexibility to use this funding to build new homes, expand existing programs or renovate currently uninhabitable housing stock. The goal is clear: to create thousands of homes for those on social housing waiting lists and increase housing supply sooner rather than later.

And that's not all the government is doing. This $2 billion investment brings our government's total investment in housing and homelessness to more than $9.5 billion this financial year. Our Housing Australia Future Fund, which is currently being held up in the Senate, would be building year-on-year sustainable funding into Australian homes—30,000 in the first five years. But today the Greens have teamed up with the coalition to further delay this incredibly important bill. Every day of delay means an additional $1.3 million that won't be invested in housing. It is beyond belief that anyone in this place would stand in the way of new housing— (Time expired)

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