Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Well, Senator Brockman talks about 'getting into bed with the Greens'. These are not words I would have chosen in taking note of answers from question time today, but those were the words chosen by Senator Brockman. So, exactly who has been getting into bed with the Greens today and all of this week? It is the coalition who has been uniting with the Greens today and uniting with the Greens all week. The coalition and the Greens have been on a unity ticket in the chamber today and in the parliament this week, and what this unity ticket is about really matters. It is about blocking access to affordable homes for Australians. That is what the coalition and the Greens have been uniting about in the chamber today and in the chamber this week. They are on a unity ticket to block access to affordable homes for Australians who need access to those homes.

On this side of the chamber, our government want Australians to have a place to call home that they can afford. That's what we're talking about this week—the $32 billion pipeline that we have created of private and social affordable places for Australians to call home. On our side, we know that supplying more homes is what is going to get Australians into more homes and help them find that affordable home. But, yet again, the coalition and the Greens are uniting to block affordable homes for Australians, just as last year they delayed the Housing Australia Future Fund for six months. Can you believe that the coalition and the Greens wanted to block the construction of 30,000 social and affordable homes for Australians, including women and children fleeing domestic violence?

This week we've been able to announce that we are investing, through the Housing Australia Future Fund, in the construction of 13,700 social and affordable homes. Imagine if this chamber had not united to block that bill for six months. Those homes would be on the ground faster for the people who need them, for the women and children who are fleeing domestic violence and need those homes, for the low-income Australians who need those homes. And now we're seeing that the old team is getting back together; the coalition and the Greens are getting back together and voting against access for 40,000 Australians who want to buy a home through the Help to Buy scheme. That is the legislation that is in front of the parliament. That is what we've been talking about today.

This is a program to give people a leg-up to buy their first home with a two per cent deposit and smaller mortgage repayments. Who could hate that? Those opposite, the coalition, are teaming up with their new besties, the Greens, to vote against 40,000 actual people who could benefit from this scheme. The hint is in the name: help to buy. Why are you joining with the Greens to vote against the opportunity for 40,000 Australians to have Help to Buy? Only you can explain that. We expect you to vote against build-to-rent as well.

This is a scheme to build more apartments for Australians to live in, to boost supply, because, again, on this side of the chamber we know that the answer to housing affordability is to build more homes. On that side, you do not have a single policy to build a single home in this country—not a single policy to build a single home in this country. All you have is a policy, courtesy of our colleague Senator Bragg, for people to raid their own super in order to push house prices up, making housing even less affordable, and then to retire on the age pension. What a vision you have for Australians!