Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

My apologies, President, I was too quick out of the seat! I might start where I was interrupted. How audacious is it that Senator Birmingham, who was a senior member of the former government, which did nothing in the area of social or affordable housing or working with the states and territories on increasing housing supply, would wander in here and try and absolve them from any responsibility for the fact that we don't have enough houses in this country. The Commonwealth government, when they were in power, removed themselves from any involvement—outside of trying to ransack people's super to pay for housing—to actually deal with the fundamental issues of low affordable housing supply in this country. There is no government other than the Albanese Labor government that has lent in more heavily in this space to increase supply and deal with the housing challenges that exist across the economy.