Andrew Bartlett (Queensland, Australian Democrats) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the document.

This annual report in respect of section 14 of the Housing Assistance Act 1996 is actually an incredibly important document. It is a pity that documents as significant as this are often treated as offering a chance only for a five-minute speech at the fag end of a sitting day. This document deals with an incredibly important area. It deals with the operation of the Commonwealth-State Housing Agreement, being the funding arrangement between the Commonwealth and the states for public housing and community housing and for areas of Indigenous housing. It has always been absolutely critical but it is more important than ever given the absolute crisis in housing affordability and availability which is wreaking havoc across so many parts of Australia in regional areas as well as in the capital cities.

The report is detailed. As you would expect, it details the performance of the agreement over the period of 2005-06. Of course it is already 12 months out of date. That in itself is a reminder that while we have the data from this report the reality out in the community has already moved on. The situation in terms of waiting lists for and availability of public and community housing given the growing gap and in terms of the growing crisis facing Indigenous Australians in particular over access to housing is far worse than the reality that is being assessed in this report.

Above and beyond that, we have, as I was saying in this chamber just yesterday, massive increases in costs in the private rental market as well as big leaps in the purchase price of housing for those who are seeking to buy their own home. Rising housing prices may be great if you are an investor, and rising rents and a market that allows private rents to skyrocket may also be great if you are an investor, but the majority of Australians are not. I think it is a real problem that rising house prices are still perceived and reported in many ways as being a plus. A lot of the documentation from real estate institutes and the like show double-digit growth in housing prices in particular regions as a good thing. Again, I guess it is potentially a good thing if you are an investor, but if any other basic item, particularly if it were essential, were increasing by double-digit amounts in the space of a year—or, in many areas, in less than the space of a year—there would be huge concerns. Inflation in this area at a double-digit level should be a matter of grave concern.

In the area of private rentals, that is also the case. In many regions we are having double-digit growth in inflation. That is seen as a good thing if you are an investor, so it is reported that way in many cases, but it is a terrible thing if you are simply trying to afford to have a home. You particularly do not want to be faced with upheaval or even, in a growing number of cases, genuine homelessness or having to be put in temporary shelters and accommodation of other sorts. There are a huge and growing number of Australians in that situation.

The inability of the public and community housing sector to help plug some of those gaps and to provide that safety net is detailed in this report as well—once you wade through all the different statistics that are here—and nowhere more so than in the area of Indigenous housing. It is a real tragedy that the federal government has failed to increase the amount available through the Commonwealth-State Housing Agreement. Whilst there have been some funding boosts in the area of Indigenous housing in the last budget, they have been attached to an ideological agenda of a government that is more focused on symbolism of its ideological obsessions than on ensuring practical outcomes of improving housing availability and affordability for Indigenous Australians. It is a serious problem that is only getting worse.

The Commonwealth-State Housing Agreement runs out on 30 June next year, and we have seen another left-field ideological assertion from the federal Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs that the agreement should be put up for tender. I think that, basically, we will just see what happens—if it progresses anywhere; there is a federal election before that. It is another left-field policy proposal without any clear consultation, engagement or evidence based behind it. That is also of great concern to the Democrats. We will continue to focus on housing affordability at all levels and with all types of housing. It is something all parties need to do in the lead-up to the election. I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.