Sam Lim (Tangney, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Housing and Minister for Homelessness. How is the Albanese Labor government helping working Australians to buy a home of their own, and are there any alternative approaches that would make it harder to buy a home?

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

I want to thank my friend the member for Tangney for his question. He's a fantastic advocate for more housing in his community and right here in the parliament. We all know that we're in the midst of a housing crisis that's been a generation in the making, and, after a decade of complete neglect by those opposite, we're tackling this problem from every angle. We know that the long-term fix here is to build more homes. That's why we're working with the states to build 1.2 million homes over five years, and it's why we're making those huge generational investments in social and affordable housing.

But first home buyers need our help right now. That's why we've expanded the Home Guarantee Scheme. One hundred and fifty thousand Australians have gotten into homeownership through that scheme since we've been in government, and there's more help on the way. After many months of blocking and delay by the Liberals and the Greens, Labor's Help to Buy scheme is coming.

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

The member for Fisher is now warned.

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

This scheme is going to support 40,000 nurses, aged-care workers and childcare workers that live in our communities to get into homeownership. They'll do it with a two per cent deposit, and the Australian government will help with 30 or 40 per cent of their mortgage. As part of the budget, we've expanded the eligibility for that scheme so that more Australians can get that help—help to those on middle incomes and to many more homes around the country.

We're making real progress on housing. Since we've been in government, half a million homes have been built around the country. We've got 28,000 social and affordable homes that are in planning and construction. A million Australians are getting an increase in Commonwealth rent assistance of 45 per cent, 150,000 first home buyers are being assisted and housing approvals are up by 22 per cent. There's a lot more work to do here. Housing has been central to our first term, and, if we're re-elected, it will be central to our second.

I want to contrast that with those opposite. Remember that they didn't even have a housing minister for most of the decade that they were in office. And get this one, Speaker: did you know that, for the entire first two terms of the coalition government, they didn't build a single social and affordable house around our country? Not for the entire first two terms! And, of course, we know that they want to cut $20 billion of investment in housing funding in the middle of a housing crisis. But I'm asked for alternatives on homeownership, and there's one that really stands out here—it's a real doozy—and that is the dud 'super for housing' policy. If you went into a laboratory and tried to cook up a way to make the housing problem worse, this is the policy that you'd end up with. It's going to increase house prices by about $92,000 on average across our capital cities.

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

Just pause, Minister. The member for New England is continually interjecting. I've already warned him. He's now officially warned. If he interjects one more time, he'll leave the chamber. It's just not acceptable to be continually interjecting during a minister's answer, no matter who they are. The minister has the call.

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

And, of course, we know this policy is going to leave young people worse off in their retirement. It's going to facilitate a massive intergenerational wealth transfer from the young people who are up here in the gallery to that older property-owning generation. It's rare for me to agree with the Leader of the Opposition, but, on this occasion, I will. He was asked about this proposal in 2017; he said, 'It's just not good policy.' Well, for once, he was actually right.