Helen Haines (Indi, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Regional Australia is suffering from a disastrous lack of housing supply. In Wangaratta, people are sleeping in tents because there's nowhere for them to go. Last week the government said it was going to give $2 billion to the states and territories to build thousands of new homes. Did the government impose any conditions or receive any assurances that some of this money must go to regional Australia?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Indi for her question. Certainly, when I was having discussions with each of the premiers and chief ministers, as well as at the virtual meeting that we held last Friday afternoon, all of the premiers—including the premier of Victoria, with whom I announced the program at Moonee Valley on Saturday. I had a meeting with him afterwards. He's very conscious about the need for homes to be built not just in our capital cities but in our regions as well.

Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He doesn't even know where regional Victoria is.

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

The Deputy Leader of the Opposition will cease interjecting or be warned.

Honourable members interjecting—

I just said, 'Don't interject or you'll be warned,' and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition immediately interjected. I don't know how much clearer I can be to her. She is warned and will remain silent for the rest of question time.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Victorian premier certainly knows where regional Victoria is, because he holds the seats throughout regional Victoria.

Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He's from there—Wangaratta!

A government member: He's from the bush!

Honourable members interjecting—

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

And he happens to be from the bush as well. Each of the states and territories wants to use this additional funding—on top of the $1.6 billion that we allocated for the one-year extension of the Commonwealth State Housing Agreement and on top of the additional $2 billion that's been provided for community housing—to ensure that we deal with the issue of pressure, particularly on our major capital cities on the East Coast. That is something that we have had serious discussion on, and when we meet again next time around there will be a focus as part of planning, which the states and territories have agreed on, to ensure that zoning is appropriate, to make sure that we can get more houses built and that they can be built in appropriate places. One of the drivers of that is the increased need to have more housing in regional communities.

I'm happy to work with the member for Indi on an ongoing basis, as I'm sure the housing minister is, the infrastructure minister, who is responsible for cities and regional development policy, is and the local government minister is. A lot of this is about working with the three levels of government.

We know that many of these communities are suffering from a failure to fill the labour markets that are available because there is enormous growth in these communities.

So, I thank the member for her question, which is similar to the question raised by the member for Kennedy yesterday, and I look forward to working with her on an ongoing basis to make sure that it is delivered. (Time expired)