Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Walsh, for your question. I know how much you have worked for a more just Australia and a fairer Australia, and part of that is housing. Those of us on this side want every Australian to have a safe place to call home. That is why we are investing more—to build more homes, to support renters and to help people buy a home sooner. There is $32 billion worth of initiatives under our Homes for Australia Plan, and a key part of that plan is our landmark Help to Buy scheme. It's a straightforward scheme of shared equity to enable people to get into the housing market earlier than they would otherwise. That scheme was introduced into this parliament some 290 days ago, in November of 2023. It passed the House in February 2024, 200 days ago, but it hasn't passed this place. Why? Mr Dutton and Mr Bandt are working together—that's why it hasn't passed this place. The Liberals and the Greens have come together again to block housing policies, because Mr Dutton simply says no to everything.

I mentioned yesterday that I thought the Liberal Party included in their values homeownership, but they are standing against homeownership. It appears that they don't want homeownership to be enabled for more people. They don't want homeownership for people who come from low- and middle-income backgrounds. What happened to the Liberal Party that they are standing with the Greens in the way of homeownership for more Australians? (Time expired)