Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr President. As I was saying, there was no provision for NPAH funding in the Pre-Election Economic and Fiscal Outlook in August 2013 issued by the former Treasurer. In contrast, the coalition government has provided $115 million for the 2014-15 National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness, which was matched by the states and territories. It is also important to point out that the states and territories are responsible for determining priorities, and retain the flexibility to decide which services should be funded. Mr President, in the short term, future arrangements for the National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness will be considered in the context of the 2015-16 budget, while longer-term arrangements for housing assistance and homelessness services will be considered in the context of the white paper.