Michael Sukkar (Deakin, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. We've seen building approvals, commencements and completions at their lowest levels for decades, yet, in 2023, your government brought in over 547,000 people. With one new home needing to be built every two minutes to accommodate your immigration intake, why is the government continuing to worsen Australia's housing crisis?

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

Order! The minister for infrastructure will cease interjecting. It is highly disorderly to interject before a minister or prime minister speaks. I'm not having any interjections during this answer. The member was heard in silence. The Prime Minister will also be heard in silence.

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

I thank the member for Deakin for his question. I note that people, including Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz, who's the former MIRVAC CEO and the chair of the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council, have indicated that housing and rental affordability is a real problem which has been decades in the making and that it's about supply. The nation's housing ministers didn't meet in the last five years of the former government. They went five years without any contact whatsoever. We know that, in my home state of New South Wales, the coalition were in office for 12 years and they sold off 7,600 public housing properties and only built 4½ thousand, a net loss of 3,000 properties—

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

The Prime Minister will pause. Member for Deakin, you have interjected nonstop during this answer—nonstop! You asked the question; I would have thought if you had asked a question that you would be here for the answer. You're not going to be here for the remainder of this answer; you will leave the chamber under 94(a).

The member for Deakin then left the chamber.

If someone has asked a question, the least they can do is listen to the answer. You mightn't like the answer, or you mightn't agree with the answer. But, if someone has asked the question and is given the courtesy of silence, that same courtesy is going to apply to the Prime Minister and every other minister. The Prime Minister has the call.

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

But now their opposition to public housing has gone national, with the opposition that they still maintain to the Housing Australia Future Fund; their opposition to build-to-rent, where they voted against the tax measures just last week; and their opposition to Help to Buy as well. That's even though the leader of the Queensland LNP, David Crisafulli—and I'll table this, to raise his profile a bit; I'm sure he'll appreciate it—at the LNP conference in Queensland back over the weekend, which was the one where 'nuclear' was not allowed to be said in any word or resolution, said on housing—

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

The Prime Minister will pause. The—

Government members interjecting—

Order! Members on my right will cease interjecting. If anyone interjects on this point of order, they will join the member for Deakin. The member for Wannon has the call.

Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My point of order is on relevance, Mr Speaker. He wasn't asked about nuclear; he was asked about 547,000 people coming to the country and—

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

Resume your seat. Yes, and the Prime Minister was asked about why he's continuing to worsen the housing crisis. He was obviously disagreeing with that. He was saying the word 'housing' just as you were on your feet. He won't be able to talk about nuclear, but, obviously, he will be able to talk about housing, which is what he was asked about. The Prime Minister has the call. I'm not sure what the quote is, but I will listen carefully to make sure it's relevant.

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

The headline—you don't even have to go to the quotes—is 'Boost to Buy'. So we have 'Help to Buy' in the Senate, and the Queensland LNP are going to have a program they will go to the election on called 'Boost to Buy'. Listen if this sounds familiar: 'LNP to close the deposit gap for 1,000 Queensland first homebuyers with a new shared-equity program to offer a critical boost into home ownership.' Mr Crisafulli said, 'Every Queenslander who dreams of owning their home should have the chance to do so, which is why the LNP would offer a Boost to Buy.' They've ripped it off—they've just cut and pasted the Help to Buy plan that's currently stuck in the Senate and that they're voting against. The Greens are voting against it, even though it was in their platform when they went to the last election. The hypocrisy of this no-alition of the Liberal Party, the National Party and the Greens shows no end.