Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Housing Australia Future Fund Bill 2023, the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council Bill 2023 and the Treasury Laws Amendment (Housing Measures No. 1) Bill 2023. These bills display once again that the Albanese Labor government is committed to ensuring that Australians have access to safe, secure and affordable housing.

For far too long the Australian people have suffered housing insecurity, thanks to those opposite not making the changes necessary to improve secure and affordable housing for those in our communities who are in need. Safe and affordable housing is not something that all Australians have access to, and this has disproportionately affected high-risk communities such as women and children. With the cost-of-living pressure persisting, more and more Australians are struggling with the cost of rent. We can't deny that. These bills will help Australians who need affordable social housing to get it. We should not be demeaning people for needing social housing. We can never stamp out all the issues that have led to their need for social housing, but we can provide housing to help get people into a safer environment.

We know that the fastest growing cohort of homeless people in this country is women aged over 55. In the last nine years we have seen a massive increase in the number of homeless people living on the streets in my home city of Launceston and in Hobart. We see families living in cars. We see them living in tents. While those opposite were in government for nine years, they did nothing. And what do we see from them now that they're in opposition? It's so good to have Senator Duniam in the chamber today, because he likes to go back to Tasmania and talk about the Labor-Greens—