Susan Templeman (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We know the urgency of getting more social housing stock. And as the vote in the Senate today shows, with the Greens, the Liberals and the Nationals combining to block the passage of our $10 billion housing fund, we just can't wait for them to act in the best interests of the country. So, we're delivering. We're not waiting for them. We're delivering more than $610 million to New South Wales to immediately begin boosting social housing stock. This is part of the $2 billion social housing fund accelerator payment, with the funds coming to New South Wales and all the other states within the next two weeks. We're able to do it because we brought down a responsible budget, and we're not prepared to stop working on tackling this very important issue.

New South Wales will have flexibility in how they permanently boost social housing stock, including through new builds, expansion of existing programs, and renovation or refurbishment of existing but currently uninhabitable housing stock. It means that people who are on social housing waiting lists will have a shorter wait as we increase that housing supply sooner, and all the funds will need to be expended within two years. We know Australians want practical solutions. To date in this financial year we've invested $9.5 billion to provide practical solutions to increase housing supply.

Elizabeth Watson-Brown (Ryan, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

For months now the Labor government has told us that there was no money for direct spending on housing. Well, over the weekend it was revealed that that was a lie. They announced $2 billion in new housing spending. This has come about only because of the sustained pressure from the Greens and the enormous on-the-ground effort of more than 500 volunteers. To each and every person who gave up a weekend afternoon to go and knock on a stranger's door, you did this. This is your victory. It would not have happened without the mammoth effort and the confidence it has given us that everyday people are on our side.

But the fight isn't over. This backflip from the government shows that the government can in fact fund things when it wants to, it can directly invest billions in housing whenever it wants, and it can coordinate a national freeze on rents. We still have a shortage of 640,000 social and affordable homes. A $2 billion one-off spend will not begin to tackle this waiting list. We need a real commitment for direct spending every year. Millions of renters in this country are one rent increase away from eviction. This is a crisis, and we need a crisis-level response. If we can do it during the pandemic, we can do it now.