Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Exactly—crazy talk. Last year, I remember, the member for Deakin said that if he were the federal housing minister he would 'cut out state governments where possible within the constraints of the Constitution'. Cut them out, not work with them to find a solution—that's his plan. Let's not forget what else he said. In 2021, when he was actually the housing minister, he said it was not up to him to fix the housing crisis.

A government member: Oh! What was he doing?

Oh! It sounds like a theme: 'not my job, not my job'. Instead, he placed the responsibility on the state governments. So which is it? Are the states in or out? Is it his job, is it not his job—who knows? His position is muddled, just like this motion. What is clear, however, is that we have a federal shadow housing minister who's more interested in creating obstacles than in building homes—a blocker, not a builder. Do you know what? I do like blocks, but I don't like blockers. Because of the Liberals' failed policies, too many Australians are now facing serious housing challenges. What's his response? He wants to cut the states out of the solution. Let's not forget that those opposite didn't even have a dedicated housing minister for most of their time in office.

Labor are different. We have built a strong partnership with the states. We have convened eight ministerial councils with the state and territory housing ministers. We have delivered real, tangible solutions. We are investing in 55,000 social and affordable homes, more than the previous government built during their entire time in office. In Western Australia, 1,800 new homes will be built in communities in my electorate of Swan—in Redcliffe, Rivervale and Cannington. We're taking action because we know we achieve more by working together. We are doing what we were elected to do: build homes and build them quickly. We are building them in more parts of the country so that more Australians can achieve their dream of homeownership.

We're working in partnership with the states and territories, not fostering division and blame—although I know that those opposite are totally addicted to division—because what actually matters is building more homes, not political pointscoring. The member for Deakin may be an expert in the blame game, but he's shown that he's not an expert in housing policy. In contrast, we are fixing the mess. We have increased Commonwealth rent assistance and we have an ambitious and historic reform plan—the most significant changes to housing policy in a generation. Right now, Australia needs Labor. We back battlers.

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