Jerome Laxale (Bennelong, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Throughout Australia, people are worried about the cost of housing. Many residents in my electorate of Bennelong are faced with growing rents while they are priced out of the housing market due to high prices. Over 40 per cent of my electorate of Bennelong are renters. Our median rental rate is 12 per cent higher than the New South Wales average and over 25 per cent higher than the Australian average. Almost 35 per cent of those renting in our community are paying more than 30 per cent of their household income towards their weekly rent.

Just today, a member of my community reached out to me to discuss their experiences applying for rental properties in Bennelong and the important need to make renting more equitable and accessible. He expressed to me that he was attending rental inspections with over 50 people per inspection and that his landlord refused to renew his lease as it would mean he could not raise the rent further than the $80 increase he had experienced just six months before. This is not the first piece of correspondence I've received from people within my electorate about the financial and personal pressure they are facing as renters. It's one of many.

The latest PropTrack market insight report shows that less than 18 per cent of rental properties listed online are available for less than $400 a week, the lowest rate of availability for affordable rental properties in Australia since 2018. Rental vacancy rates are currently at a record low of 0.8 per cent. Renters are being taken advantage of with the increase in interest rates, being advised that their rent must continue to increase due to increased costs. They are being wedged into a corner by those who wish to seek profit, through the combination of low rental vacancies and high interest rates.

The Reserve Bank of Australia continues to make decisions about interest rates without any true, complete understanding of the impact of rate rises on renters. With over 30 per cent of households renting across Australia, it being the biggest form of housing tenure in New South Wales, how can decisions that deeply impact this large proportion of Australians continue to be made without reflection on the impact that they may have on them?

Affordable housing rental availability is at an all-time low. It has been at crisis point for over 10 years. Put simply, the housing market continues to fail households, especially those on very low, low or moderate incomes. And it's everyone's responsibility not to fail them. This crisis is especially severe for the most vulnerable members of our society, including low-income families, the elderly and those experiencing homelessness. For them, the lack of affordable housing options can have dire consequences. Without addressing this crisis, we risk leaving behind those who need our support the most and damaging the social and economic fabric of our communities.

In 2011—that's a long time ago—7,450 key worker households in my electorate of Bennelong were in need of affordably priced housing. It is estimated that, by 2031, the Ryde LGA alone will need 10,700 affordable housing dwellings for key workers. As I've spoken about before in this place, as the Mayor of the City of Ryde I worked with the council to formulate a clear vision for affordable housing in Ryde. We produced extensive and detailed planning proposals and policies to deliver the much-needed changes to housing in our area. After three years of waiting for a response to our planning proposal, it was refused by the Liberal state government. They said it was ahead of its time yet they refused it.

From my experience, I've learnt that it is absolutely essential for all levels of government to work together to take action to address the rental and affordable housing crisis we're currently living through. With a measured and consistent plan spanning across government, we can make the changes we need to move towards solutions to the affordable and rental housing crisis. That's why this government is so determined to invest in affordable housing through the Housing Australia Future Fund. This will bring a much-needed increase in housing supply. With an increase in housing supply, more rental properties will become available in the market, reducing the cost of housing. Without the ambitious reform of this government in housing, the market will continue to fail to provide affordable rental properties and affordable homes to buy. That's why we will work with state governments around the country, through the National Housing Accord, to continue to increase the supply of new housing into the market. State governments must look closely at their rental legislation as well, to ensure that renters are protected and supported.

In a few weeks time, we'll have an election in New South Wales, and I note only one party of government is pledging a comprehensive policy agenda for renters. State legislative changes such as the appointing of a rental commissioner, banning secret rent bidding, allowing pets in rentals and introducing affordable bonds have been put up by the Labor Party New South Wales. They must be implemented to ensure that renters will be adequately protected.

Local governments also have a crucial role in ensuring that there is a sufficient supply of affordable housing in our communities. They can all work together to create more affordable housing options, implement zoning laws that support the development of affordable housing and ensure that rental properties are up to standard and habitable for tenants. In our experience in Ryde, we did lodge that planning proposal, to try and force developers to provide affordable housing. But, as I mentioned earlier, unfortunately the Liberal state government knocked it back. What we were able to do was to negotiate, through the planning system, the delivery of affordable rental housing for key workers in our area. In Macquarie Park, we have not only retail workers but also workers in the tech industry, students and people who travel across Sydney to work. In Macquarie Park alone, through the affordable housing policy that we were able to establish, we were able to get over 30 units, in a matter of years, for a small local government area. If each and every local government area were able to do that, that would increase the available stock of housing supply. If the state government were able to do more, that would increase the stock of housing supply. And, of course, if the federal government were able to get the Housing Australia Future Fund Bill 2023 through the Senate, we'd be able to do something for the first time in over a decade.

I find it extraordinary that those opposite, the Liberals, come in here and complain about the cost-of-living crisis yet they're not supporting the solutions this government continues to put up. We put up solutions to bring down the cost of housing, and they say no. We bring up solutions to put downward pressure on the cost of energy, and they say no. Yet they still have the gall to come in here each and every day and complain about the cost of living. This huge investment through the Housing Australia Future Fund will ensure the delivery of 30,000 affordable rental homes across Australia, and we know, from talking throughout our communities, that it is absolutely essential that this piece of legislation makes its way through the Senate. Every housing provider that I'm aware of is supportive of this package. They're supportive that we have a federal government that is willing to help state and local governments to tackle the cost of housing and to do something about affordable rental.

We know that communities are more vibrant, more diverse when there is an affordable housing mix. Particularly in seats like Bennelong, where we have huge economies in Macquarie Park that need workers who live close by, it is crucial that the federal, state and local governments work together to intervene in the market to ensure that a percentage of housing available is actually affordable, because, as I've said, the market is absolute failing right now. We are just not getting properties available for rent for under $400 a week. We've got extreme hyperinflation in the rental market at the moment. You just need to pop online and have a look at locals who are posting videos and posting photos of landlords and real estate agents sending them notices that their rent's going up by $80, $90 or $100 a week. No supply makes it incredibly difficult for those who wish to live in areas like Bennelong—particularly in inner-city areas, where you're close to transport, close to jobs, close to great schools—to stay in those areas, set up their family and have an affordable place to live near work.

I really encourage all those in the Senate who are yet to consider the Housing Australia Future Fund Bill to get behind the government's plan to deliver this huge, much-needed and long-overdue intervention into the housing market. We are in desperate need of more supply of good-quality homes built that are affordable for those who need them most.