Josh Burns (Macnamara, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

One of my favourite things I like to do in Macnamara is go and have morning tea or lunch with my public housing residents. One of my favourite places to go is the Emerald Hill public housing estate. Mel, the president of the Emerald Hill public housing association, and Maureen, one of my favourites there as well, helped put on a breakfast barbecue. We spent some time with a lot of the residents. Every time I go there, I'm filled with hope and good times and I appreciate the friendship of all the residents.

I'm really proud of our public housing community. I'm really proud of the residents in social housing in my electorate. I am also really proud that, once again, the federal government is back in being involved in housing policy in this country. It's telling that the sorts of governments that invest in public housing and social housing in this country are Labor governments. Last night we saw a realisation of our commitment to build 30,000 new social housing homes. It is a great Labor policy; it is a great Labor reform to ensure that Australians have access to safe and secure housing.

I was also especially proud to hear the Treasurer talk about the new Housing Accord, which is a profound ambition to work with the states and industry to invest in affordable homes. Our housing sector hasn't had a federal government willing to step up to the table and try and make sure Australians have access to safe and secure housing. That changed last night, and the Labor government that we are proud to be part of is back in the business of building affordable homes.