Tania Lawrence (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

There are a lot of people around the country right now with football fever. The Matildas have captured the imagination of the nation, and we are right behind them in their quest for glory at the FIFA Women's World Cup. It is brilliant, it is exciting, and I am loving the passion and enthusiasm for women's sport. Yet here we have the coalition with two right feet and kicking their own goal. This MPI from the member for Deakin is the football equivalent of forgetting which way you're going on the field, tearing the wrong way down the wing, sending a sweet cross into the box and slotting a divine header right past your own keeper. If it weren't such a serious national issue, it might actually be funny.

Housing is a very important issue in Hasluck, and my electorate in Western Australia has 53 per cent of householders paying a mortgage and a further 18 per cent renting. In some parts of the electorate, the percentage is much higher. The suburbs of Brabham and Henley Brook are Perth's most mortgaged suburbs, with over 73 per cent of residents paying off their homes. Hasluck changed hands at the election last year, and one of the reasons that Hasluck changed hands was housing. Mortgage and rental stress are real. Social and affordable housing is a real issue. People are concerned to see that everyone has a roof over their head. When voters went to the polls in Hasluck on 21 May last year, they went to the polls knowing that the Albanese government would be making serious investments in housing. The Housing Australia Future Fund is a significant part of that package of housing affordability measures.

This morning, Senator David Pocock hosted a briefing by Everybody's Home. Everybody's Home is backed by organisations across a wide range of housing support interests. They presented their report Brutal reality: the human cost of Australia's housing crisis. The report is essential reading, and members here who read that report and understand the stress that people are under must surely vote for any and every measure the Minister for Housing brings before this parliament. Senator Pocock is on the record as saying that he wants more, but he's also smart enough to know that the bill is a great start. He's backing the Housing Australia Future Fund. Likewise, the Jacqui Lambie Network is supporting passage of the bill, and I commend Senators Lambie and Tyrrell for their support. There's a housing crisis, and those senators are doing the right thing.

The last time the bill came before the parliament, we had the Greens and the coalition in bed with each other on this bill—tossing and turning I bet. It's got to be an uncomfortable relationship. I wonder what they think when they roll over during the night and their eyes lock. What do their constituents think?

We heard earlier from the member for Capricornia. She spoke of 1,200 residents attending a town hall in Rockhampton, talking about housing affordability. Double that number, she reports, are potentially sleeping rough. There are rent increases of 12.6 per cent. The average rent is $585 per week. Clearly, she is not talking to those deeply concerned and stressed individuals, so I will. To those residents of Rockhampton, know this: the Albanese Labor government is delivering immediate action through the $2 billion Social Housing Accelerator, which will deliver new social rental homes across the country, in partnership with the states and territories, including in your town.

We're working with the states and territories. We're working to create action for renters by expanding opportunities for home ownership and bolstering frontline homelessness services. For those experiencing that 12.6 per cent increase in your rent: if you are eligible, you'll be a beneficiary of the increase in the maximum rate of Commonwealth rent assistance by 15 per cent. This was the largest increase in more than 30 years. We are hearing you, we are responding and we are acting, but we can do more. We can do more with the Housing Australia Future Fund. This is a $10 billion commitment. But we need you to get onto your phone and contact your local members, like the member for Capricornia, and ask her to support this bill.

The Greens have to stop pretending that they have a mandate and pass the Housing Australia Future Fund Bill. The Liberals and the Nationals, who have opposed this legislation, have to come forward, listen to what you're telling them and pass this bill because every housing body in this— (Time expired)

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