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

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

Introduction

The year 2024 is drawing to a close, yet the housing crisis continues unabated in Australia. Right across the nation including in regional areas, housing is less affordable and harder to find than at any other point in our lifetimes.

Housing prices continue to grow, and the average home now costs 16 times the average annual income. Renters are applying for 10, 20 or 50 properties without success, because in many towns vacancy rates are well below one per cent.

For an average aged-care worker, it would take up to 19 years to save for a home deposit. For a childcare worker—some of our most underpaid and undervalued workers—this figure is an astonishing 30 years. How can it have gotten to this?

The sad reality is that for an entire generation of Australians, home ownership—or even a secure rental—feels out of reach and unattainable.

The simple and sad fact is that hard work and homeownership have become disconnected in this country. Whereas it used to be that anyone with a decent job could buy a home, it's now your parents' wealth that often determines your chances of homeownership.

Regional Australia e xperiences the h ousing c risis d ifferently

As a regional Independent, I also know that the housing crisis is experienced differently in the regions. In my electorate of Indi, I've heard from a family of five on two good incomes crammed into a two-bedroom unit. I hear from key workers—in teaching, healthcare or construction—who can't take up vital jobs in our regions because there's simply nowhere to live. We know young couples right across Australia are putting off having children because of the lack of affordable and secure housing. The situation in the regions is dire.

One woman told my office recently that, 'We are trapped in a constant cycle … We'll never be able to give our kids stability or a permanent home.'

Unfortunately, I'm concerned the government doesn't fully realise what the housing crisis looks like in regional Australia. Despite more than $30 billion in new housing commitments, as this government is quick to spruik, it has delivered no funding nor programs specifically focussed on increasing supply in the regions.

So, while Labor, Liberals and the Greens play political games over housing legislation in the other place, I remain focused on solutions to the housing crisis in regional, rural and remote Australia.

Framing Critical Enabling Infrastructure

By listening to my community, to local governments, to builders and developers, I know that a major barrier to building new housing is the lack of critical enabling infrastructure. This means the sewerage, water connections, electricity poles, roads and footpaths that must be built before houses can even begin to go up.

It's not shiny, but it's critically important. Unfortunately, regional communities struggle to attract the capital investment from developers to build this infrastructure, and regional councils with their low rate-payer bases can't fund it on their own.

It's why, for more than two years, I've been calling for a regional housing infrastructure fund that would help build the paths, poles and pipes to unlock more housing.

It's why I'm glad that both major parties have now adopted versions of my policy—even if it is a little late. The government's Housing Support Program and the opposition's Housing Infrastructure Fund show that as an Independent, when we listen to the needs of our community to come up with solutions, we can influence the policies of the major parties and the actions of government.

Unfortunately, neither major party has a plan to address the unique housing supply challenges facing regional communities—they're too focussed on the major cities and the outer suburbs.

Fair Share For Regional Housing Bill 2024

That's why I'm introducing my fair share for regional housing bill today. We must amend key housing legislation to ensure regional communities get a fair share of housing funding. We need to give local governments and utilities companies a bigger, fairer, slice of the pie—because without them the builders, developers and community housing providers simply won't be able to build the houses we need in regional Australia.

What the Bill Does

This bill amends the Housing Australia Act 2018 and the Housing Australia Future Fund Act 2023 to specifically address the regional housing crisis.

Firstly, my bill amends the objects of Housing Australia and the HAFF. It adds that an object of Housing Australia—and a function of the HAFF—is to address the housing needs of people in regional, rural and remote Australia.

Secondly, it requires the minister to scrutinise the action needed to ensure Housing Australia distributes at least 30 per cent of its funds—including through the HAFF—to projects in regional, rural and remote Australia. The minister would also have to table in the parliament reports on how it has complied with this requirement—ensuring we all know whether the government is doing enough for regional Australia.

Thirdly, it makes it absolutely clear in the legislation that both local governments and utility providers are eligible for HAFF funding and should be supported by Housing Australia.

Fourthly, it would increase transparency by requiring Housing Australia's annual reports to set out the amount of funding distributed to each state and territory, to each council and water corporation, and to each area of regional, rural and remote Australia. We need to get eyes on this. This will give the public line of sight on exactly where Commonwealth housing funding is going. Because right now, we simply can't see it.

Fifthly, the bill ensure critical enabling infrastructure is eligible for HAFF funding. This bill will do that. The current legislation does not make this clear—so I'm making sure that it is clear that housing funds can build the supporting infrastructure that unlocks homes close to where people work, live and study.

Finally, my bill requires the statutory review of the HAFF to consider how the HAFF has met housing needs in regional, rural and remote Australia.

Conclusion

This bill is needed, because the government and the opposition are too focused on the cities when it comes to the housing crisis. Regional communities risk being left behind, and I won't have it.

This bill will equip regional Australia to tackle the housing crisis head on—to build the homes that will support our regions for years and decades to come. With more well located and affordable housing—we can attract the workforce we need and ensure everyone has somewhere to call home.

Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion for the member for Indi and am very pleased to support the Housing Legislation Amendment (Fair Share for Regional Housing) Bill 2024. Around one in four people live in regional Australia, and accordingly it is appropriate—it's necessary—for our policy settings to reflect the population distribution across our nation. One would expect that, if public policy were written with this logic, the regions would have legislative consideration commensurate with our representative population; sadly, this is not the case. All too often, regions are given very little consideration. In fact, most of the time, we're not really considered much at all.

In the context of housing, the importance of rectifying this imbalance is particularly appropriate. Vacancy rates in some of my regions are as low as 0.4 per cent, considerably lower than the city and inner suburbs. Construction or upgrades to infrastructure necessary for housing developments takes more time in the regions and is typically more expensive. Many of the amendments tabled by the member for Indi have been discussed in this place before, and I commend the member's persistence in advocating for a fairer share of Australia's resources being allocated to the regions. Ensuring proportional expenditure in the regions, as laid out in amendment 1, is sensible and reasonable, as are the requirements of amendments 2 and 3 to report the amount and proportion of distributed funding to regional and rural and remote Australia.

Amendments 4 to 12 to the Housing Australia Future Fund Act address the current shortfalls and inequities in the act. These include identifying regional, rural and remote Australia as a group within the act; clarifying critical and enabling infrastructure for social and affordable housing—and that's really key; affordable rental housing, as the member for Indi mentioned, with respect to childcare workers; adding regional housing as the forth purpose in the act; and requiring the minister or Housing Australia to specify funding for regions when publishing information.

So much of public policy in this place is very much city centric and east coast centric. We need to lift our eyes and we need to recognise that one in four Australians live outside of the cities, outside of the suburbs, and they deserve to have public policy that addresses their needs too.

Debate adjourned.