Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is for the Minister for Veterans' Affairs. How will the Albanese Labor government's Home for Australia Plan respond to the housing challenges confronting Australia's veterans, and why is action urgently needed?

Matt Keogh (Burt, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to thank the member for Adelaide for this important question and acknowledge his support for the over 3,800 veterans in his community. Veterans are more than three times more likely to experience homelessness than the general population. On census night in 2021, we saw that over 1,500 Australian veterans were homeless. Every year, about 6,000 veterans are at risk of experiencing homelessness. Last week, the member for Boothby and I went and visited the Andrew Russell Veteran Living centre in her electorate, where we got to meet Duncan, an Australian veteran, who had been provided with housing and, critically, with the wrap around support services that he required to get back on his feet.

Whilst I was there, I also announced that the Albanese Labor government is addressing the veteran homelessness problem with the launch of the Veterans' Acute Housing Program. This is a program funded through the Housing Australia Future Fund—the single biggest investment in social and affordable housing in more than a decade—and forms part of the Albanese government's $32 billion Homes for Australia Plan—

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

The member for Cowan is now warned.

Matt Keogh (Burt, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

led by the Minister for Housing, Homelessness and Small Business. This is a new $30 million program that is delivering on our commitment at the election to support veterans and their families who are experiencing or are at risk of homelessness. Applications for grant funding are now open to veteran-aware community housing providers and ex-service organisations to apply for one or both of the two schemes.

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

The member for New England is warned. If he interjects one more time, he'll leave the chamber.

Matt Keogh (Burt, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There's $24 million available to build or expand crisis and transitional housing, as well as $6 million available for the specialist wraparound services to support our veterans. There's no doubt that this issue of veteran homelessness is urgent, which is why it was so disappointing that the opposition, along with the Greens political party, delayed the Housing Australia Future Fund by six months. By voting against it in this place, they delayed these funds from being made available earlier, just as they are now opposing the build-to-rent scheme in the Senate.

It is absolutely galling, shocking and appalling that we have the opposition and the Greens coming together to oppose further support for housing, after they already opposed support for housing for our veterans. It seems that those opposite are willing to put undisclosed billions of dollars into nuclear reactors, but they are standing in the way of putting together the funding to support our veterans who are experiencing homelessness. We said that we would support veteran housing, and that's exactly what we are doing. That's how you deal with cost-of-living relief, not through pushing up power bills through nuclear reactors. (Time expired)