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

Last week I spoke to a woman my electorate whose story has stayed with me. Cherie lives in a two-bedroom house with her husband and her three neurodiverse children in Wodonga. The high cost of living and the additional cost of care and support for her children means Cherie's family are in severe financial stress. They now face a 10 per cent rent increase, which they simply cannot afford. Their search for a new rental is fruitless—knocked back in application after application. Cherie told me, 'We are trapped in this constant cycle of renting and moving every year. We will never be able to give our kids stability or a permanent home.'

I wish I could say this was an exceptional story, but it isn't. That's why I'm working every single day to put forward practical solutions in this place that will help families in my electorate find a stable home. For more than two years I've been working for greater Commonwealth investment in the enabling infrastructure that we need to unlock more housing. I knew this is where we should focus because it's what I heard from families trying to build new homes, from local governments trying to unlock more housing and from the builders and developers ready to break ground.

As the Independent member for Indi I have taken stories like Cherie's and the experiences in my region and created policy solutions that would meet those needs and, specifically, to open up more land for housing and more land with water connections, power connections—power, pavement, poles.

So I welcome the coalition's recent announcement of a housing infrastructure fund which mirrors my calls for a $2 billion regional housing infrastructure fund. It's why I welcomed the government's Housing Support Program when it was announced last year, just one week after I put my infrastructure plan to the Prime Minister.

The good news is we now have both major parties singing the same tune and understanding that, if we're going to solve this housing crisis, it's going to start with more pipes, paths and poles. It also shows the crucial role of the crossbench in driving forward the policy debate in this country. From housing to integrity to the energy transition, the crossbench is working constructively with industry experts and the community to put forward practical and ambitious policies that address the challenges we face as a nation.

I can't stomach it when the major parties play politics over housing. It does nothing to help people like Cherie and her family. It is why every single day I'm working hard with my community to deliver solutions that will help more Australians into stable and secure homes where they and their families can thrive.