Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Minister for Community Services, Senator Scullion. Will the minister provide an update on the coalition government’s contribution to the provision of housing in Australia? Further, will the minister provide details on any actions that further reduce the affordability or availability of housing?

Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Community Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for his question and his longstanding interest in housing affordability and the availability of public housing, particularly in his state of South Australia. Since this government came to office in 1996, the population has grown by around three million.

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Community Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If those opposite are not all that interested in this particular question, I am sure the young people that I see surrounding us in the gallery will be, because housing for their parents is a fundamental part of their future.

Housing affordability has been on everyone’s mind for quite some time, and I think that the question really went to what the Commonwealth government has provided. We have provided $9.6 billion over the last decade, which is a considerable amount of money. And we have done it in the great spirit of partnership—principally with partners in the states and territories from the Labor Party. In this spirit and in the interests of future generations of Australians like those in the gallery, we provided $9.6 billion. A little bit of simple maths: $9.6 billion at around $250,000 a house over that period of time is about 36,000 homes. You can imagine 36,000 homes in really big suburbs—houses as far as the eye can see. But we do not have 36,000 homes; we do not have 3,600; we do not have 360; we do not have any! An investment in public housing of $9.6 billion over 10 years by this government has, through the state and territory governments, resulted in 13 fewer houses than we started with.

I tell you what: I am sure those in the gallery will understand that if you spend $9.6 billion on houses and a truck arrives and the doors open and there are none, you would not want to do that again, would you? It is pretty basic stuff. And so, no, we are not going to be doing that again. We are engaging with the private sector and the community sector and with non-government organisations that are prepared to do the right thing. When we enter into a deal, we say, ‘We will provide money and you will come up with houses that keep people out of the rain.’ That is pretty basic sort of stuff. We know that the government has provided the money. We can come up with the invoices—I can tell you that now. We can provide absolutely unquestionable evidence that $9.6 billion has been provided. So when we say to the states and territories, ‘Excuse me, where are the houses—

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What sort of economic manager are you?

Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Community Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition interjects, ‘What about economic management?’ That is just what I am talking about: how can you lose $9.6 billion and expect Australians to support you in this matter? This is a complete outrage. It is absolutely essential that people start to recognise and support the very good work of this government by not simply throwing good money after bad but investing in the private sector and the NGOs. The only way we are going to deal with any of these issues is to ensure that we abolish the money-grabbing taxes that have been imposed by the states and territories on land and house building. A complete waste of money, $9.6 billion, was invested by the Labor Party for an outcome of absolutely nothing.