Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I begin by thanking the member for Parramatta for exposing the absurdity of the coalition's claim that a 30 per cent increase in the cost of housing has been caused by the CFMEU. What exposing that claim highlights is the desperation of those opposite in trying to link the two together in a political attempt to somehow smear the Albanese Labor government.

No government has invested more money in Australian housing than the Albanese Labor government. But the reality is that it will take more than money; it will also take time to fix the mess left after nine years of the coalition government in office. In 2007, when the last coalition government left office, under Howard, homeownership rates in this country were at 70 per cent. By the time the last coalition government left office, they were down to a percentage in the mid-60s. As mentioned earlier, it was the lowest number of homes owned in this country in history. That's from nine years under their watch.

We then have all of the bills brought into this place by this government delayed as much as possible by those opposite in order to deliberately stop the production of new houses in this country. Then they come in here and try to blame the Albanese Labor government for the housing crisis of today. Housing prices and rental prices are directly linked to supply and demand, and this government has been trying to increase supply from the day it was elected. The reality is that the housing numbers not only fell markedly under their watch. If you want to improve the issue, then you have to go to the key issues that ensure that more homes are built—land availability, infrastructure, availability of building materials, skills and trades and access to finance. In the very brief time that I have left, let me talk about each one of those.

Land availability means that you have to work with the states. This government is doing that with the $1.5 billion Housing Support Program, the $1 billion for the National Housing Infrastructure Facility, and the National Housing Accord, all aimed at ensuring that there is land available, that there is the necessary infrastructure to that land and that, where possible, even Commonwealth land is made available for new homes. It's all about doing the preparation work that is absolutely needed.

We then go to the availability of building materials. This one has to be one of the ones that is most laughable when it comes to claims from the other side. We currently have before this House the Future Made in Australia policy, which is all about rebuilding Australian manufacturing so that the very materials we need do not have to come in from overseas, and what are those opposite doing? They are trying to block that legislation every step of the way. Well, the fact is that it will ultimately get through, I believe, and it will ultimately make a difference to ensuring that we have the building materials that we need.

If you look at skills, again, when the last coalition government left office, there were tens of thousands of apprentices fewer than what we had when they came to office. We had an apprenticeship shortage in this country because they failed to fund it. And, again, we are putting $88 million for 20,000 fee-free TAFE spots, including pre-apprenticeship programs for the building sector and so on. Again, we're investing in trying to rebuild those skills whilst those opposite continue to oppose.

And then you come to the access to finance. We've got a build-to-rent scheme. We've got a help-to-buy scheme. We've increased rent assistance by 15 per cent the previous year and 10 per cent last year. We have the Home Guarantee Scheme. Each one of those proposals was opposed by those opposite. Every time the Albanese Labor government attempts to fix the very crisis that they come into the chamber and talk about, they stand in the way, either by obstructing it or at the very least delaying it.

The truth of the matter is that the Albanese Labor government has invested $32 billion into housing. It's the biggest investment on any single project ever I can recall in my time in this parliament. We have an ambitious plan of 1.2 million new homes by the end of the decade, and we have a plan to build 30,000 social and affordable homes. What is the plan of those opposite? They don't have one, other than to raid the superannuation funds of members, leaving them with nothing when they retire.

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