Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Treasurer, Senator Gallagher. In May last year, Prime Minister Albanese committed the Labor government to having 'real, lasting plans for cheaper mortgages'. Given Australian families have now faced 11 interest rate rises since the election of a Labor government, can the minister report progress on the government's real and lasting plans for cheaper mortgages?

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

Yes, I can. I thank Senator Smith for the question and the opportunity to talk about Labor's housing agenda, which includes a very—

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think it was on cheaper mortgages.

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

Thank you for that interjection, Senator Birmingham, but it is part of a broader suite of policies that relate to Labor's housing agenda, of which the Housing Australia Future Fund is one. We have one of our signature policies, the Housing Australia Future Fund, a $10 billion fund, being blocked by those opposite, who refuse to acknowledge that the Commonwealth has a role to play in housing policy. This is not my portfolio area, of course, but I'll take the question—

Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

President, I raise a point of order on relevance. The question clearly talked about mortgages and clearly talked about the 11 interest rate rises.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Smith. I think by definition mortgages go to housing. The minister is being relevant. But I will listen carefully and, if she is not relevant, I will draw her to your question.

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

We went to the election with a very significant policy in relation to housing. It had a number of different features. We had the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund. We have the negotiations that we are having with the states and territories on national housing and homelessness agreements. In the budget, we included incentives to increase the build-to-rent accommodation. We have an additional $2 billion in financing for community housing providers. We have the recent social housing accelerator, another $2 billion. We have the Commonwealth rent assistance increase, the largest increase in 30 years.

Jane Hume (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

None of those are about mortgages.

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

Hang on. We haven't got through it all yet. There's the National Housing Accord, a shared ambition to build one million homes, with $350 million—

Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

President, I raise a point of order on direct relevance. The question clearly talked about cheaper mortgages and 11 interest rate rises.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will draw the minister to those points.

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

So we have the Housing Accord. We have the Home Guarantee Scheme. We have the help-to-buy scheme, which is a program to support eligible Australians on low to moderate incomes to purchase their own homes with a smaller deposit, which will result in smaller mortgages and smaller mortgage payments. We're working with states and territories on that. (Time expired)

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Dean Smith, a first supplementary?

Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The statement of monetary policy released by the RBA on Friday revealed that:

Scheduled payments have risen by around 2¼ percentage points of household disposable income since the March quarter of 2022 and will continue to increase as borrowers with expiring fixed-rate loans roll off onto higher rates.

Minister, isn't this proof the Prime Minister has no real or lasting plan to— (Time expired)

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

No, that is not true, Senator Smith. If you listened to the last two minutes of the answer to your first question you will have heard all of the different policies that we are putting in place to deal with the housing crisis that we inherited from you from when you were in government. It's another area—

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

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

Well, no. You do need to take responsibility for the fact that the Commonwealth completely vacated the field, particularly in relation to public, social and affordable housing, and it was about just letting the market rip. We are back at the table, working with the states and territories, and the program that the Prime Minister is referring to—

Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam President, we're not talking about Labor's housing crisis; we're talking about Labor's mortgage payments crisis.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Smith, are you making a point of order? The minister is being relevant. Minister, please continue.

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

The program that Senator Smith refers to, which is the Help to Buy program, ensures that people who are currently unable to afford to get into the housing market as owners are given support through their governments. We are working with the states and territories on the implementation of that program right now.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Smith, your second supplementary?

Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

DEAN SMITH () (): The statement on monetary policy released on Friday by the RBA also said:

Based on cash rate increases to date, scheduled payments are projected to increase to an historical high of around 9.8 per cent of household disposable income by the end of the year …

Minister, will the Prime Minister apologise to Australian families for failing on his commitment to deliver real, lasting plans for cheaper mortgages and for instead inflicting on them the highest scheduled mortgage payments in history? (Time expired)

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

There's a lot in that to unpack, but the government is implementing all of the policies it took to the election, including the Help to Buy scheme, which we are working with states and territories on. This is why the cost-of-living package that we brought in through the budget and otherwise has been so important to assist those households who, we acknowledge, are under pressure because of rising interest rates, because of high inflation and because of the impact of the global economy on some of our supply chains, which is feeding the inflation issue in the country. We accept that that is the case. That is what's happening in the economy and is why, when we brought here $3 billion worth of energy bill relief support and you voted against it, we couldn't believe it. You actually voted against people receiving cost-of-living relief in an environment where they're doing it tough. This government will deliver on all the things we said at the election, and we will do more, as we have been doing since we formed government.