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

I am very pleased to speak on this MPI today and clear the record about this government's bold achievements on housing policy. Contrary to what we have heard from those opposite who brought this MPI forward, the 47th Parliament under the Albanese Labor government and the Minister for Housing, who joins us for this debate, have been absolutely transformational when it comes to housing.

I have listened to those who have spoken from the Greens political party this afternoon and it feels like they are living in a different world. They are living in a world where the constitutional prohibition on Commonwealth rent controls does not exist. They live in a world where the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund, which will build social and affordable housing into perpetuity, did not pass this parliament thanks to the great work of the housing minister, the member for Franklin, and they live in a world where they did not delay that incredibly important policy that so many Australians could not wait to see pass this parliament. They delayed that policy. They live in a world where the $2 billion Social Housing Accelerator was not part of our first budget back in government and the $3 billion new homes bonus did not happen. They live in a world where they are not publicly opposing our landmark Help to Buy scheme in the Senate right now.

Quite frankly, they are living in a fantasy world. We in the Albanese Labor government live in reality. As everyone in this place would be aware, we need more housing in this country. We are getting on with that job each and every day as a government. As everyone in this place would be aware, it was quite a chilly morning in Canberra this morning. But luckily for the minister for Housing and I, along with ACT Minister for Housing, Yvette Berry, we were looking at a lovely warm and new public housing dwelling this morning. We were able to tour five new dwellings in the inner north of Canberra, in my electorate. The units were beautifully designed and energy efficient with an eight-star rating and ready for new tenants to move in very soon. It shows what can be done when we have two progressive Labor governments working together to deliver what Australians need.

Starting on 1 July the ACT will receive an additional $157 million in funding from the Commonwealth to build more of these excellent public housing homes all across Canberra. This is part of our five-year national agreement on social housing and homelessness. The Albanese government's ambitious housing agenda will see 1.2 million homes built under the National Housing Accord by the end of the decade. In the last budget alone, we invested a further $6.2 billion to build more homes, bringing total federal investment in this term of parliament to $32 billion. Because on this side of the House we are building the homes that will house Australians for generations to come. As of December 2023, there were already over 226,000 dwellings under construction—six months before the accord period even commenced. We're working with the states and territories to secure a better deal for renters, including the development of a nationally consistent framework with a requirement for reasonable grounds for eviction, moving towards limiting rental increases to once a year and phasing in minimal rental standards.

With policies such as the Housing Australia Future Fund and the Social Housing Accelerator already up and running, and Help to Buy coming soon, this government is fully committed to securing our housing future. It's Labor that actually cares about solving the Liberal's housing crisis while those in the Greens political party are just trying to score points. To think that they would stand in the way of these important schemes to build more houses for Australians!

Here in Canberra it's no different from anywhere else in the country. We have a housing crisis. People need affordable housing. We need more public housing, we need more social housing and we are getting on with that job. It was so lovely this morning to go and visit these bright, beautiful new dwellings and know that Canberrans who might have never had stable housing in their lives before could experience the transformational power of a stable place to live and a roof over their head so they can get on with the rest of their lives with that security. That is what this minister and this government are working to deliver each and every day that we are on the side of this chamber.

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