Teresa Gambaro (Brisbane, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Social Services. I refer the minister to a report in the Australian on 13 March 2014 that exposed how the National Rental Affordability Scheme has been exploited by developers and has delivered poor outcomes at the expense of low-income workers. How has the government responded to the failure of this scheme?

Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Brisbane for her question and I acknowledge the deep concern that she has for the constituents of her electorate, particularly those constituents who are low-income workers and their families and their concerns for housing in the inner city areas of Brisbane in particular.

Yes, I have seen the report in the Australian which the honourable member referred to. This is one of a series of emerging reports about the mismanagement of the previous Labor government of the National Rental Affordability Scheme. Indeed, what this report revealed was that a scheme which is taxpayer subsidised—

Mr Husic interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Chifley has already been warned. If he wishes to leave he will keep it up!

Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

to provide low-rental dwellings for the low-paid workers of Australia in this particular case has not been used to house low-income workers of Australia but has been used for up to 1,500 international students. So instead of providing for workers, it is providing for the investors and the developers in this case. This is just one of the failings of the National Rental Affordability Scheme. There are many other failings to it, including the fact that the targets for this scheme set by the Labor government have simply not been met.

I was looking around seeing who might be responsible for this mismanagement. Indeed, there are a few candidates, because in six years of Labor government there were not one, not two, not three, not four, not five but six separate ministers responsible for housing. Housing became—

Mr Brendan O'Connor interjecting—

One of them is making a noise at the moment.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Gorton will desist.

Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

But the reality was that this housing portfolio became a game of musical chairs for the Labor government. But who do you think the prime suspect might be?

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Does she have form?

Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Minister for Health has an idea. The prime quiet achiever is the previous Minister for Housing, the member for Sydney, because she was warned about this failing and ignored it. The Queensland government was warned about this failing and closed the loophole. The Queensland government closed the loophole, but the member for Sydney, the then Minister for Housing—you rise, obviously, in the opposition the more incompetent you are, because she is now the Deputy Leader of the Opposition—simply neglected to fix this loophole. So it is not just GP superclinics; it is the National Rental Affordability Scheme as well.

Mr Brendan O'Connor interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Gorton will desist unless he wishes to join his colleagues outside.

Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Well, we will fix the mess left by Labor.