Clare O'Neil (Hotham, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Housing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

What an incredible moment for the parliament. If Australians had any question about where the Liberal Party and the National Party stand with regard to housing and homeownership, they have no questions left. Not only do the people opposite not want to come into the parliament and support the Help to Buy scheme; they're actually trying to use their numbers in the parliament to prevent us from even bringing this back into the parliament and having a debate about whether and how we can support low- and middle-income people in this country into homeownership. I want childcare workers, aged-care workers, apprentices and nurses across the country to see this. Those opposite are not standing up for you. Instead, they are in this parliament trying to stop you from getting access to homeownership, which we believe you deserve.

The people behind me are not going to stop fighting for those people. As I said in question time, the reason that the people behind me get out of bed every morning is to try to help and protect and defend the interests of low- and middle-income Australians. We believe something very humble, and that is that ordinary people in our country should get access to homeownership. This is exactly what this bill is about. It's about 40,000 people who right now are complete locked out of the housing market and bouncing from rental to rental, having their rents increased and having to move their kids from one school to another. We can help 40,000 Australians and their families have that life-changing transformation of having their own home for the first time. The Liberals come in here and not only don't support the bill but don't even want us to debate it. That is a disgrace.

The Labor government committed to establishing a shared-equity scheme to help 40,000 low- and middle-income Australian households into homeownership.

Today marks a significant step to delivering that promise.

The Help to Buy scheme will be the first national shared-equity scheme of its kind. It will be delivered through Housing Australia and will help Australians to overcome both the hurdle of saving for a deposit and servicing a mortgage.

Through Help to Buy, the Commonwealth will cut the cost of buying a home by up to 40 per cent. Participants will only require a minimum two per cent deposit and will benefit from lower ongoing mortgage repayments through a smaller home loan.

Eligible participants will be able to access the scheme through participating lenders alongside a standard mortgage. Housing Australia will then provide the Commonwealth's equity contribution for a loan arrangement secured against the property.

Housing Australia will be funded by a special appropriation to enter into Help to Buy arrangements and will return funds to the Commonwealth when the equity is repaid.

The Minister for Housing will provide written directions to Housing Australia on the operation of the scheme, including decision-making criteria for entering into Help to Buy arrangements.

The bill also contains provisions enabling states to pass legislation for their constituents to participate in this scheme. All states have agreed in principle to participate in the scheme.

Help to Buy will be open to help people who have owned homes before and those who haven't. It will help couples, siblings and singles alike. Those who are close to retirement, those just starting out in the workforce and anyone eligible in between.

This is a historic commitment by the government because we understand what buying a house means to Australians. For most, it's the single biggest investment they'll make in their lifetimes, but it is so much more than that. It's giving people the certainty of homeownership, an opportunity to live in their community and the chance to create opportunities for their families.

Delivering on Help to Buy, alongside the Housing Australia Future Fund, the Social Housing Accelerator Payment and the Housing Accord, will mean more Australians have a safe and affordable place to call home.

I really call on others in the parliament to come forward and support this bill. There is no public policy reason to stand in the path of 40,000 people who need and deserve the government's help. We deal with a lot of legislation in this parliament. We face few opportunities that are as clear as this one to, in one move, be able to change the lives of 40,000 people around our country, and I urge the Liberals and the Greens to work with the government to take it.

Debate adjourned.