Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

It's great that we've got a senator on this side of the chamber that cares about regional housing. The Albanese government understands that safe and affordable housing is central to the security and dignity of all Australians. A decade of no action from the 'no-alition' left us with significant challenges across the country. The result is that housing affordability, once only a problem for our major cities, is now a problem right across the country. Regional businesses and councils have jobs to fill, but attracting the workers they need is difficult because there's a shortage of housing for the workers to live in. The Albanese government, unlike the coalition, is actually doing something about it. We've delivered the largest investment in new affordable and social homes in decades, with the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund and a commitment for 30,000 new social and affordable rental homes in the first five years—opposed by Mr Dutton and the coalition. That's how much you care about housing in regional Australia. You voted against the Housing Australia Future Fund and 30,000 new social and affordable rental homes in just five years. These are the homes that Australia needs, in the regions that they need them.

The HAFF is just part of our government's ambitious housing reform agenda. The Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee, since its launch, has helped more than 13,000 regional Australians to get into homes. Importantly, our Help to Buy scheme will cut the cost of buying a home by up to 40 per cent for low- and middle-income earners, bringing homeownership back into reach for 40,000 Australian households. The Help to Buy scheme is an important part of our housing agenda.