Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Local Government) Share this | Hansard source

That was a very lazy contribution, I believe. What we are talking about here is a very serious social and economic problem facing this country rather than a ‘Reds under the bed’ style scare campaign from senators opposite who obviously have not even bothered to research this problem in any depth. We know that housing affordability is a national problem and it is a problem that requires leadership and a consistent response. However, over the past 11 long years under the Howard government we have seen a government that has failed to show leadership. It has failed to provide the leadership necessary to address the ongoing crisis in housing affordability and it has certainly and consistently failed to respond to the increase in this problem.

The problem is this: housing is one of our most basic needs but with rents skyrocketing in all of Australia’s capital cities and homeownership slipping out of reach of many ordinary working Australians, this basic right, this basic need for housing, is eluding many in our community. When asked about the issue of housing affordability, Mr Howard would have us believe that there is a single simple solution—the states should minimise taxes and release more land.

Of course there is no such simple solution. The New South Wales government has already abolished stamp duty for first home buyers purchasing properties for less than $500,000. While this has assisted many first home buyers get into the housing market, it has not changed the ongoing challenge of improving housing affordability generally for everybody else. Blaming the states for these issues is not good enough. There are a whole range of reasons for rental and house prices going up right around the country, and the coalition government’s response is: we will just blame the states again. This blame game is the approach of the Howard government and they make it out to be a solution. The blame game is not a solution; it is an excuse for poor leadership and poor governing of this particular portfolio.

The Australian dream of owning your own home is becoming unattainable for many. Demographia, an international housing affordability survey, found that Australians now pay on average 6.6 times their annual household income on purchasing their homes. Sydney, Perth and Hobart were among the top 20 cities around the world where houses were found to be ‘severely unaffordable’. To even get into the housing market in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth you now need a six-figure salary. In my home city of Canberra you needed an annual income of $43,250 back in 1996 to purchase a median-priced home, but with 11 years under the coalition government this has exploded in 2006 with the average Canberran now needing an annual income of some $106,596 to purchase a median-priced home.

Before you even start anything else, for most people this will mean having two incomes. The implications on child care and working people’s work/life balance are significant, especially if you add the problem of the shortage of child care, particularly in babies’ rooms when children are very young but families cannot afford to do without that dual income to pay the mortgage. Those who do manage to save a deposit while paying their rent, bills, childcare costs and other necessities are then left paying the highest percentage of their income in mortgage interest repayments—higher than ever before.

Adding to this financial pressure are the four interest rate rises since the last election. Yesterday in this place Senator Minchin said that a significant factor in housing affordability is interest rates, and yet we have seen interest rate rises under a coalition government since the last election—a broken Howard government promise. It was a promise that was never his to make but that did not stop this arrogant government or this tricky Prime Minister from making the claim. This is not lost on homeowners and mortgage payers around the country and I doubt that they will be forgiving.

Another group that are really feeling the pinch are renters. Nationally rents have been rising more than twice as fast as inflation. As rental payments chew up a greater proportion of people’s income, saving a deposit to purchase their home is becoming increasingly difficult—and that goes without saying. Low-income renters are particularly vulnerable in the current climate of low vacancy rates and spiralling rents.

Recent statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that there is an estimated 134,000 shortfall in low-cost rental properties nationally—134,000 families that are doing it tougher than they ought to be. I have heard one example of a mining town in Queensland where the people working in the services sector cannot compete for housing with the people working in the boom sector of mining, with unmet demand pushing up prices till they are out of the reach of those people who work in that services sector of the economy and do not earn the salaries they would receive if they worked in a boom sector. Another example is in Western Australia, where a company ended up buying a hotel in which workers could live because the housing shortages were so drastic. As these examples show, the problem varies between different areas. This means it is important to be able to adapt local solutions to local problems, and as such the Labor Party has committed to work when in government with all levels of government, not just state governments but local governments as well, to help solve housing issues within their jurisdiction.

Even today I read an article in the Canberra Times highlighting the very real and devastating effects that increasing rental prices are having on low-income families. Ms Hazell, an unemployed mother with two young girls, has had to move four times in the last two weeks after leaving her $700 a fortnight rental property. Ms Hazell is concerned about the effect this is having on her two young children. She told the Canberra Times:

My kids are bright, but falling behind in their school work. They’re tired. They’re suffering ...

Obviously that is a serious case of hardship. Access to secure, appropriate and affordable housing is an essential ingredient of quality family life. But this government has not been doing anything to ensure that families such as this one can access appropriate housing.

One of the most respected figures in the Canberra property industry, Mr David Dawes, is going to be heading an implementation team to drive the reforms and initiatives flowing from the soon-to-be-released affordable housing report initiated by the ACT government through the ACT Chief Minister, Mr Stanhope. Mr Stanhope said today:

“There are few more important social imperatives than ensuring that everyone in the community has access to affordable and appropriate housing ...

It is clear that there is no substance to what this government says about states and territories not doing anything. It is not good enough to say, ‘Blame them.’ We need to acknowledge that there are initiatives happening at a state and territory level and that in fact it is the Howard government that has been totally neglectful of its duty to address this growing problem. It has failed to address housing affordability. It has ripped $400 million out of the Commonwealth-State Housing Agreement over the last 10 years. In contrast, Labor is committed to making improvements in all areas of housing, including emergency accommodation, public and community housing, private rentals and homeownership.

Unlike the Howard government, Labor have a plan to make these improvements. Firstly, we will have a minister responsible for housing. The minister will be responsible for developing and implementing affordable housing policy. The housing minister will form an essential part of the government’s economic team, working closely with the Treasurer to boost housing affordability. Secondly, as cited in the motion we are currently debating, a Labor government will work with state and territory governments and with local government to address the serious and ongoing crisis in housing affordability. That is the only way; it has got to be addressed with a three-tier approach, not by this ridiculous, shallow, irresponsible blame game that the Howard government perpetuates.

Thirdly, a federal Labor government will negotiate a national affordable housing agreement with these three tiers of government which will replace the Commonwealth-State Housing Agreement. All elements of federal housing policy will come under this one agreement, including the grants to states for public housing, the first home owners grant and $2 billion in Commonwealth rent assistance. It is critically important that local government be involved in that so that we can tailor local solutions to local problems. They do vary right across the country, and we have to get down to a level of specificity that makes a real difference to families in specific areas. I would like to conclude by saying that a Rudd Labor government is committed to boosting affordable housing— (Time expired)