Nita Green (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to speak on the appropriations bills and, in doing so, take the opportunity to talk again about this government's budget. As we know, budgets are incredibly important documents. In a recession, in this recession particularly, this budget could not be more important. But it's not just what's written down on paper that matters. In a recession like this, what governments do is important, because governments have a job to do during recessions—to lead the country in an economic plan, to drive investment, to create jobs and to make the most of the opportunities that we know this terrible recession has brought about for our community. It's about action; it's about doing things. It's about rolling up your sleeves and getting things done—delivering on your promises.

But we know that, when it comes to delivering promises, the only thing the Morrison government is fast-tracking at the moment are announcements. They have no plan to deliver on these announcements. We know that they made many announcements before the election, when they were asking the Australian people for their votes. And yet those announcements, even in a recession, remain undelivered. The Morrison government has their priorities wrong, and we know that they have underspent so far on housing and on nation-building infrastructure. They've spent plenty of money on advertising what their slogans are and on putting up signs in shopping centres and on bus stops to tell the Australian public that there's an economic comeback on the way.

When we strip away the advertising, the slogans and the marketing, we know that we have a very deep recession, a huge amount of debt and record deficits. But we need to know what we'll have to show for it after all this is done. How will this government build our nation back again? At the moment, this budget—this document—does not show the way forward for the Australian people. This government has presided over record unemployment, with a million unemployed, and it's forecast to remain unacceptably high for unacceptably long.

Young people, particularly, have been hit hard by this crisis and the government's hiring credit subsidies are not enough to support the secure and permanent jobs that they need in the future. The hiring credit scheme hurts the 928,000 Australians over 35 who have been excluded from the program. The Morrison government has form with failed policies when it comes to targeting youth unemployment. We know that programs like the PaTH program, which was so ineffective, were quietly cut. And 678 older Australians have died in aged care during the coronavirus pandemic, but this budget doesn't include the measures that are needed to make sure there are enough workers on site or enough PPE, or the measures that we need to make sure that it never happens again.

I'm really pleased to have an opportunity to talk about this budget, particularly speaking ahead of the minister, because it means that I'll be able to bring to the attention of the Senate and those opposite the one thing in the budget papers that I was really looking for on budget night. I know that, as the budget papers get dropped off around this place, people open them up and scan through, trying to find where the jobs are going to be. Where are the promises? How will we overcome these issues? There was one particular forward payment that I was looking for. As a Queenslander and as a senator based in Cairns, I know that housing is one of the biggest issues for people living in Far North Queensland. It is one of the biggest issues that is holding back economic development and holding back the health and wellbeing of people living in Queensland. So when I looked to find what the remote housing funding commitment was from this government for the many years to come, people wouldn't be surprised to find out that, as I flipped through the pages, I found that page 43 of the Federal Financial Relations Budget Paper No. 3 said that there was nothing for remote housing in Queensland for the next financial year and the one after that, and the one after that. There is nothing in this budget—a recession budget, when we need to rebuild and to create jobs—that will make sure that we deal with the remote housing issue in Far North Queensland.

I have stood here many times since becoming a senator, having had the opportunity to travel through Cape York and the Torres Strait and seeing the very desperate need for social housing and for remote housing, and I've gotten angry about it. I've decided to not get angry tonight but just to explain to the Senate, to the minister and to the people sitting opposite—the members of the government—why we need this fixed now.

COVID was an opportunity for this government to understand how important it is for people to have a house. You can't isolate from coronavirus if you don't have a house. You can't isolate from coronavirus if you're living in a house with 28 to 30 people. But in our country, in the state of Queensland, under this government, that is exactly the situation we face. We were desperately concerned when there were outbreaks across the country, knowing the full situation about overcrowding in housing, that if a case of coronavirus were to make its way to Far North Queensland and to Cape York or the Torres Strait it would be incredibly difficult to isolate any single individual or family.

I've visited places like Yarrabah. I've visited places like Aurukun. I've been to the Torres Strait—all over the islands there. I have visited places in Cairns that desperately need social housing. We need remote housing now. And what did the government do in the budget? Well, they didn't deliver any reoccurring, ongoing funding. Before the election the government went around to people living in Far North Queensland and asked for their vote. They told them that they would deliver $100 million of remote housing to councils directly. They said, 'We will fund $100 million of remote housing.' They didn't say to them at the time that they weren't going to continue to fund remote housing. But now we know that that money is a one-off, and when it's gone there'll be nothing more.

Through this budget they have decided that now is the time—during an economic recession, during a COVID-19 health crisis—to wash their hands of Indigenous communities in Far North Queensland that need houses to survive. Do you know how much of the money that they promised before the last election—$105 million—they've actually delivered to communities in Far North Queensland? None of it. Five million dollars of that money has been transferred to the state. We are still waiting on $100 million. Sure, it appears in the budget as a line in small font on a piece of paper. But when you find out what this government has actually done when it comes to remote housing, after all the promises before the last election, after they stood up in Cape York and told people they would deliver housing for Far North Queensland, for the Cape, for our First Nations people—they told them that, and they said, 'Vote for us, because we will deliver housing for you'—they haven't delivered a single cent of that money. Not a single house has been built after that promise over 12 months ago. And during the budget, when the government had the chance to deliver ongoing, recurring funding to make sure that for many generations we would be able to make sure people have housing and that kids are not growing up in a house with 29 other people, what did they do? They washed their hands of this problem. They said, 'Nope, leave it to the states; it's got nothing to do with us.'

How many times have they said that during this crisis—that it's a matter for the states? Isn't it depressing, when you've got a federal government that would rather leave important infrastructure decisions—funding for people to survive in housing—to somebody else?

Do you know what real leaders do? They stand up and they say: 'I'm going to make a difference on this. I'm going to fix this problem. I have the will, the power and the resources. I'm going to do something to fix this.' But this government just walks away. That's what it's done to people living in Far North Queensland.

The minister tonight will give a speech about the appropriations that are in this budget, and he'll talk a lot about the things that the government have done during this coronavirus outbreak. There'll be lots of discussion about jobs, but one of the easiest and quickest ways that you could create jobs in Queensland would be to fund remote housing and social housing for people who really need it. Those construction jobs could be created right now. It's not an issue just for Indigenous councils; all over regional Queensland they need housing. These are the areas that the government say that they support, that they represent and where they go out and tell people, 'We stand up for people in regional Queensland.' Well, they don't. What those areas are saying right now is that they need housing. Mount Isa needs housing. Stanthorpe needs housing. There is nowhere for people to live and yet the Deputy Prime Minister gets up all the time and talks about this idea of regionalisation, that people should go and live in the regions—'Pack up your bags and go and live in regional Queensland.' I would encourage people to do that as well, but when they get there there's a housing shortage.

This was the opportunity, this was the document, this was the chance for the government and the members opposite, who say that they stand up for the regions, who say that they stand up for people living in the bush, to do something about the housing situation we have in Queensland—and all across the country, I would imagine. But, instead of doing anything, the government shirked their responsibility and left pages blank in the budget papers. What a terrible indictment on the government that they'll make speeches about how fantastic the states have done and pat themselves on the back for the work of other people but not deliver something as crucial as a house for people to live in. I can't imagine what it would be like to be a parent making a decision to raise a child in a house with 28 other people, knowing that your government promised to deliver housing but walked away at the very first opportunity to do it.

At the end of this recession, at the end of this election term, Australians will be wondering, 'What is the plan?' Is the plan to use taxpayers' money to put nice advertising in shopping centres and bus stops when the plan really could be to deliver the things that our community needs right now—not in three or four years and not 10 years down the track but right now? People living in Far North Queensland need houses. This government promised to deliver. When it got the chance in the budget, it walked away from it. That is a terrible indictment on this government. It doesn't care about people. It's leaving them behind. It is a shameful thing to do to a group of people who believed that this government would do the right thing when given the chance.