Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I think it is a bit rich coming from Senator Payne, who was a senator during the period of the Howard government, to accuse us, a government that does have a housing minister, who has focused on these issues, given that under the Howard government there was no housing minister for 12 years. The Howard government ripped $3.1 billion out of the housing budget, so to come in here and say, 'You ought to be doing more,' with your record, quite frankly, takes a lot of gall. The last time you had a chance to support affordable housing you voted against the stimulus that we tried to introduce. You voted against it in the last parliament. So to come in here and say, 'Isn't it terrible that you're not doing more,' when you did nothing and when you voted against the measures we have introduced is, quite frankly, a bit rich. This government is absolutely committed to continuing its investment in housing to support the very big challenges that we confront. (Time expired)