Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Housing and Minister for Homelessness. How will the Housing Australia Future Fund help get more Australians into homes, and how has it been received?

Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Small Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to thank the member for McEwen for his important question. He knows that across our country the dream of a secure home has become so much harder. It's become harder for Australians to buy a home, harder for Australians to rent a home and, indeed, harder for people to find somewhere safe and secure to call home. But these problems didn't emerge overnight.

After almost a decade of little action from those opposite, we have added housing affordability challenges in this country.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Deakin is on a warning.

Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Small Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

But, of course, the Albanese Labor government was elected with a plan to tackle these challenges. Last week, I introduced our legislation to deliver on our election commitments to ensure more Australians have a safe, affordable place to call home. The $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund is the single biggest investment by a federal government in social and affordable housing in almost a decade. Returns from this fund will be there in perpetuity to invest in more homes for Australians—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Barker is now warned!

Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Small Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

that need it most, with a commitment to build 20,000 new social homes and 10,000 affordable homes in the first five years of the fund. And, as the Prime Minister has pointed out, 4,000 of those homes will be for women and children fleeing family violence, and for older women at risk of homelessness. It will also provide $200 million for improvements to housing in remote Indigenous communities, and $100 million for crisis and transitional accommodation for older women, and for women and children leaving family and domestic violence. It will also include $30 million to build housing and fund specialist services for veterans who are experiencing homelessness.

This will make a real difference to people's lives. It will provide real relief to those that need it most. But what have we heard? Most Australians would expect people in this place to support more social and affordable housing, but, from what we're hearing, that is not the case. Indeed, we're hearing that some will be coming in here to vote no to building more homes for women and children fleeing family violence. People will be coming in here and voting no to building more homes for veterans that are homeless. They will be coming into this place and voting no to people in need today right across the country—people in our cities and in our regional towns. Australians are already paying the price for almost a decade of little action from those opposite on housing. These Australians cannot afford for us to waste another day.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm just reminding the member for Deakin and the member for Barker that they are both warned. If they interject one more time, they'll be leaving the chamber.