Anne Urquhart (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Albanese government understands just how serious the current housing challenge is. We are committed to acting to address it, whereas the previous government made it very clear that it would not take up the call for action. Unlike some in this place, we know there is no silver bullet to address this very serious problem, but Labor has an ambitious plan to tackle the housing challenge we inherited.

We went into the May election with a comprehensive housing reform agenda and we're working hard to address the causes of Australia's rental affordability challenges. We recognise that this is a very serious challenge occurring across the country, which is putting stress on a great many families and individuals. In Tasmania, renters are experiencing these increases just like the rest of the country. More and more people have been coming to my electorate office and talking to me about the struggle of trying to find an affordable home.

Cities and towns across our country are experiencing extremely low rental vacancy rates. Australians are being forced into insecure housing like caravans and tents. This is not an acceptable situation in a wealthy country such as ours, and the Albanese government is taking significant steps to address it. These rental and cost-of-living challenges are very real and they need real, lasting solutions. We are not, however, actively considering proposals to freeze rents.

It is important to note that regulation of residential tenancies is a matter for state and territory governments. The Commonwealth cannot require those governments to freeze rents, but there are things we can do. Our government's housing reform agenda is working to address the causes of Australia's rental affordability challenges. We're moving to swiftly implement a comprehensive plan to address the rental crisis and help those in the private rental market, a plan which was endorsed by the Australian people when they voted us into government this year.

Social housing lists have grown to an unacceptable size over recent years. In my home state of Tasmania, the government's own data shows that more than 4,450 families are now stuck on the government's historically unprecedented waitlist as the state government has failed to deliver on its big housing promises over many, many years. These long waiting lists for social housing across the country have forced vulnerable Australians into the private rental market.

To help address this, we've acted quickly by unlocking up to $575 million through the National Housing Infrastructure Facility to invest in more social and affordable housing. This will support our commitment to build 30,000 new social and affordable housing properties through the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund. This will put downward pressure on rental prices. We have many Australians who are trapped in the rental market because they have been unable to buy their own home. In response to this, the Albanese government has brought forward the start of the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee to 1 October this year, three months earlier than we promised. That initiative alone will help up to 10,000 regional Australians every year to get into their first home with a deposit of as little as five per cent. The government will guarantee up to 15 per cent of the purchase price for eligible first home buyers, meaning that regional Australians who are looking to buy can avoid paying costly mortgage insurance.

This is concrete action taken by our government to help Australians into a home. And it's targeted action, available only to locals who have been living in the region that they want to buy in or a neighbouring regional area. To be eligible for a Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee, applicants must be Australian citizens, purchase outside a capital city and demonstrate that they've been living in the region in which they are purchasing the property or the adjacent regional area for at least 12 months. This is in addition to the Home Guarantee Scheme, which helps up to 50,000 eligible Australians into home ownership every year. It supports first home buyers and single parents with dependants into home ownership with a smaller deposit.

Under the First Home Guarantee, up to 15 per cent of an eligible first home buyer's home loan from a participating lender will be guaranteed. This will enable the home buyer to purchase a home with as little as a five per cent deposit and without paying lenders mortgage insurance. The Family Home Guarantee supports single parents with dependants to own their own home with a minimum deposit of as little as two per cent. We will also introduce Help to Buy, a brand-new program that will help cut the cost of buying a home by up to 40 per cent and make it cheaper and easier for eligible Australians to own their own home.

It's important to recognise that many of the levers to fix rental affordability are in the hands of state and territory governments. So, in a spirit of true collaboration and national leadership, our government has begun a process working with state and territory housing ministers to explore innovative approaches to address rental affordability. This reform agenda, so important to ensure that Australians are not denied that basic right of a roof over their heads, will be in clear evidence in the upcoming budget, with real commitments to put more downward pressure on rents.

Unlike the previous government, we recognise that the Commonwealth has an important leadership role in increasing housing supply and improving affordability. We will establish a National Housing Supply and Affordability Council to ensure that the Commonwealth plays that leadership role in increasing housing supply and improving affordability. The council will be advised by experts from the sector. It will set targets for land supply, in consultation with states and territories. It will also collect and make public data on housing supply, demand and affordability.

Fixing land supply and planning will improve housing affordability and boost economic growth. But the only way to achieve this will be by having the three levels of government all working together. The Minister for Housing and Homelessness, the Hon. Julie Collins MP, has started the development of a new national housing and homelessness plan that will become a key plank in our reform agenda. This plan will be developed with the support and assistance of key stakeholders, including states and territories, local government, not-for-profits, urban development experts and industry bodies. It will set out the key reforms needed to make it easier for Australians to buy a home and to rent and put a roof over the heads of more homeless Australians. Organisations from all sides of the political spectrum have been calling for a plan like this for years and the previous government ignored them.

The Albanese government takes rental affordability challenges seriously. We are delivering the regional first home buyer guarantee ahead of schedule, because we recognise the serious housing challenges in regional Australia. We inherited a housing affordability crisis and we are tackling it with a practical but ambitious plan. This challenge is one we will strive to address every day we are in government in this country. We know we have a lot of work ahead of us, and, this coming weekend, the start of the regional first home buyer guarantee is that first step.