Kate Chaney (Curtin, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

Since I last spoke in the House about this package of legislation, the imperative to address supply and structural challenges in the housing sector has become increasingly urgent. I'm pleased to see that the Australian Greens, parts of the crossbench and the government have come to an agreement in the Senate and that the housing package will pass, along with an additional $3 billion commitment to social housing. This is the first piece of the puzzle. It won't fix the problem, but it's a start. More than 9,000 Western Australians are currently experiencing homelessness on any given night, and more than 4,100 people access specialist homelessness services every day in WA. Social housing makes up 3.8 per cent of homes in Western Australia. In 1983 we approved 14 social houses for every 100 private houses. Now it's only 1.4 per 100. The social housing waiting list numbers in WA have been steadily increasing since 2019, and the average wait time for a social house is 113 weeks. There are currently 39,000 individuals and 19,000 applications on the social housing waiting list in WA, with 4,700 priority applications. Additionally, WA currently faces an unmet need for 19,000 affordable homes. These are big numbers, and it puts the 30,000 homes over the next five years into context. On our current trajectory, the figures that I've quoted will double in the next 15 years, so let's not kid ourselves that we're solving the problem completely with this package. Even if we built all of these 30,000 homes instantly and all in Western Australia, we would still have a shortfall, but the extra $3 billion committed to social housing in negotiations with the Greens will also help. We need to see a sustainable pipeline of investment that represents an annual commitment to tackle more than just 30,000 homes.

The HAFF is at least a bigger investment in housing supply than we've seen for a while, and the amendments made in the Senate are improvements. I'm glad to see the guaranteed minimum annual distribution of $500 million, as I called for last time the legislation was before the House. Guaranteeing that $500 million as a minimum will provide greater certainty to the market so investors will know that their returns are protected and will be more willing to invest. The National Housing Accord was initially a shared ambition to build one million homes over five years. It's now updated to 1.2 million. It depends hugely on the states and on private capital, and I fear it might be more aspirational than realistic. I note the government's recent announcement to provide states and territories with a new home bonus of up to $3 billion if they help reach that updated target, and I hope that the WA government will rise to challenge set by the Commonwealth government to address the housing issue in my home state. I welcome the inclusion of social and community housing and disability accommodation expertise on the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council. It will be really important that the members of the council act in the overall interests of the country, rather than defending different parts of the housing industry, and it will also be important that the council retains its full independence. Bringing forward the review date to December 2026 is also welcome. The package's success depends significantly on the response from the states and the market, and settings may need to be adjusted, especially after the National Housing and Homelessness Plan is finalised and the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement is renegotiated.

It's worth noting that the current $10 billion commitment pales in comparison to the $290 billion the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation said would be required over the next two decades to meet the current and projected shortfall. I commend the government, the Australian Greens and some of the Senate crossbench for finally coming to an agreement on this housing package so we can start to address this fundamental need.

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