Tony Sheldon (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

tor SHELDON () (): I will start by addressing some of the comments that Senator Reynolds made earlier, because I find it amazing that someone can come into this place and say that Labor has bad policies on affordable housing because we don't have enough houses, then go on to say the government won't meet the deadline on the number of houses that need to be built, and then say, 'I'm going to vote for no houses being built.' It is an extraordinary debating point, but it also goes to the heart of the DNA of those opposite, and I'm going to touch on that in my speech. They don't have alternatives about investing in housing, but they do have an alternative view when it comes to superannuation and housing, and I'll get to that point in a moment.

The Housing Australia Future Fund Bill 2023 and related bills will deliver on the Albanese government's commitment to all Australians to take swift and decisive action on housing affordability. We find ourselves in this situation because of a decade of failed policy and outright inaction from those opposite. Now they come in here to try to stop our government getting on with building 30,000 social and affordable homes, but we shouldn't be surprised, because for a decade they did nothing on rising energy prices—well, they delivered the national energy price guarantee. For a decade they did nothing about the cost of living, while we've delivered a suite of cost-of-living measures. For a decade they did nothing about record low wages, while we've delivered the single biggest rise to the minimum wage in decades, which they opposed. Like these issues, the housing crisis has been driven by the inaction, incompetence and indifference of those opposite.

Since coming to office, we've shown that our government's legislative agenda is about delivering for Australians, which is exactly what we're doing by establishing the Housing Australia Future Fund. Labor is about delivering. The Liberals and Nations, put simply, are the 'no-alition'. There's nothing Mr Dutton and those opposite have seen that they don't want to say no to. Clearly, 'no' is their favourite word.

We will not forget that this legislation could have been passed months ago. We could have had had contracts signed, foundations being laid and homes being constructed. Instead, here we are in the Senate talking about it instead of acting, because of the long-running obstruction by those opposite. It's in their DNA to disregard the need for social and affordable housing. You only need to look at my home state of New South Wales, listen to Senator Reynolds and watch which way they'll vote on the opposite side. But in New South Wales, during their 12 long years in office, the Liberal-National government sold off 4,205 social housing properties across the state. That's $3.5 billion worth of social housing that the community desperately needs right now.

Instead, we're left in the current crisis due to the lack of investment and outright lack of care from those opposite. But let's look past the sheer hypocrisy of the National Party, who represents some of the poorest communities, as stated by the former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce himself. He said: 'In the National Party, we've got the poorest seats. The richest people are represented by the Greens, then the Libs'. The same party then walk into the Senate chamber and vote against 30,000 homes for the most vulnerable Australians, their own constituents. It's pretty evident that the reason regional communities are suffering is that they've been represented for 103 years by people who vote against the interests of their own communities, and right now we are at crunch point.

Australians are struggling, and now we need to build more social and affordable houses. The Australian Council of Social Service Chief Executive Officer, Cassandra Goldie, said: 'The financial pressures associated with keeping a roof over your head are becoming far more widespread than we've seen in the past.' Those opposite support low pay. Their anti-worker, anti-union agenda has put us in this crisis, and they're obstructing us in our efforts to fix their mess. This is a crisis created by them, and they should hang their heads in shame.

These bills establish the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund. The fund will make annual disbursements of at least $500 million a year to finance the construction of new homes. In the first five years of the fund, that means the construction of 20,000 social homes, 4,000 of which will be reserved for women and children leaving domestic and family violence and older women on lower incomes who are at risk of homelessness. On top of those 20,000 social homes, it will also fund 10,000 affordable homes for frontline workers like police, allied health workers, nurses and cleaners—the people who are providing the most essential services in our community but increasingly cannot even afford to live in these communities.

So, combined, this bill will see 30,000 social and affordable homes built in the next five years. That's what those opposite will be voting against. Let's be very clear: that's 30,000 social and affordable homes over the next five years—homes for victims of domestic violence and homes for essential workers priced out of their own communities—and those opposite are going to vote against it.

The fund will also provide $200 million for the repair, maintenance and improvements of housing in remote Indigenous communities. Unlike those opposite, we don't seek to use these communities as a political football. They say they want action, and we're taking action for Indigenous communities. They talk about action. Here is your chance to turn around and vote for action. As always, just like the Indigenous communities you've abandoned, you've also abandoned social and affordable housing. We put our money where our mouth is, including with this bill today.

The bill also provides $100 million for crisis and transitional housing options for those leaving family and domestic violence. Again, it's remarkable the 'no-alition' is voting against that. There is also $30 million to build housing and fund special services for veterans experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness. So the 'no-alition' is voting against specialist services for veterans experiencing homelessness too. How low can you get—how out of touch and how disrespectful to the people in our community?

So, taken altogether, the measures in this bill represent a substantial yet targeted investment in housing for those who are most in need. It provides targeted support for essential workers, those experiencing domestic violence, veterans and remote Indigenous communities. Currently, more than 122,000 people are experiencing homelessness, including over 17,600 children younger than 12 years, a truly heartbreaking figure.

But these aren't just numbers on a page. They are real people: neighbours, sons and daughters, mums and dads, aunts and uncles, grandmas and grandpas. This fund will go a long way in supporting these families and ensuring that they have and maintain a safe and secure roof over their heads, because we know that ensuring people have a secure roof over their heads leads to greater outcomes. It allows people greater opportunities to study and learn, find and maintain work and provide for their families. It gives people a chance to build their lives in the middle class and to come into the middle class. These bills are about supporting people like former IT worker Lee, who became homeless after losing his job due to mental health problems, or former academic James, who had a relationship breakdown and was forced onto the streets due to the shortage of available homes. Our Housing Australia Future Fund is fundamentally about supporting struggling Australians and helping them into a safe and secure home and to get back on their feet.

Of course, these bills are just part of the Albanese government's broader housing reform agenda. There's the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee, which, having been launched back in October, has already helped more than 1,600 people in regional Australia to get into their first homes. There's also the National Housing Accord with state and territory governments, local governments, institutional investors and the building sector, which aims to build one million homes over the five years from 2024. That is a remarkably ambitious target that requires the Commonwealth, states, territories and local government to work cohesively together. When you remember the antagonistic relationship the Morrison government had with state governments, it's clear this accord could only ever have been delivered by a federal Labor government.

The Minister for Housing is also working through a new National Housing and Homelessness plan, to begin from next year. I want to commend the minister for the announcement that the Albanese government is delivering a $67.5 million funding boost for homelessness services. Homelessness funding, like much of the funding in the Morrison government's last budget, was scheduled to end at the end of last financial year—to fall off a cliff. Under the Morrison government's budget, there was going to be a massive funding cut for homelessness services across the country during a housing crisis. I thank the minister for delivering on that funding. I particularly commend the Australian Services Union and their members and service providers for campaigning for that funding. Frankly, the amount of funding that the Morrison government's budget had scheduled to end at the end of this financial year is unbelievable. This isn't the only area where the Morrison government created a funding cliff where the Albanese Labor government has had to step in and ensure the continuation of funding rather than potentially losing vital services in the sector. It would appear that the depth of cuts they were planning to all sorts of essential services, including homelessness services, would have made even former Treasurer Joe Hockey blush. Unlike those opposite, we know that homelessness services and proper investment in housing supply are essential.

That brings me to one of the most underrated debacles the Morrison government inflicted upon the Australian people. I'm talking, of course, about the Morrison government's super for housing policy. Super for housing is a policy that is so utterly ridiculous that it was a shock to see the Leader of the Opposition recommit to that policy last year. This is the only idea that those opposite have to deal with the housing crisis. It's a laughably bad idea. You don't have to take my word for it at all. Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull described super for housing as 'the craziest idea I've heard'. Former Liberal finance minister Mathias Cormann said:

Increasing the amount of money going into real estate by facilitating access to super savings pre-retirement will not improve housing affordability. It would increase demand for housing and … would actually drive up house prices by more.

You don't even need to listen to former Liberal leaders. You can listen to the current Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party, Sussan Ley, who said in 2017:

Young people need their super for retirement, not to try to take pressure off an urban housing bubble …

The Liberals and Nationals' policy idea is so absurd that many in their own party hate it. Even the deputy leader hates it. Even they know that super for housing isn't a policy about housing affordability. It's just another way for Senator Bragg and his mates in the extreme neoliberal wing of the Liberal Party to attack our super system.

While the opposition leader grandstands with grand ideas on housing affordability and reheats the Morrison government's ridiculous super for housing policy, because they hate the prospect of Australians being able to retire in a decent and comfortable manner, we on this side are investing billions in building 30,000 social and affordable homes over the next five years. While those opposite side with their real estate agent mates, those sitting on the top floors of tall buildings in capital cities, ensuring that their already outrageously large profit margins get even bigger, we on this side are investing in housing for those leaving family and domestic violence, veterans, essential workers and remote Indigenous communities. We on this side are working with all levels of government and are aiming to build one million homes in five years because, unlike those opposite, we aren't playing politics with the housing crisis; we're trying to fix it.