Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Indigenous Australians, Senator Gallagher. Labor's record immigration is directly responsible for the housing and rental crisis affecting millions of Australians, yet your government has just announced $4 billion to be spent on new housing and maintenance only for Indigenous Australians in the Northern Territory. How does the government justify spending $4 billion on less than 0.3 per cent of the population—approximately 76,000—when you only allocated $10 billion dollars for the rest of Australia with your useless Housing Future Fund, which is more about attention politics than real, meaningful outcomes?

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

It's incorrect to say that there is only $10 billion in housing measures across Australia. We have a package of about 17 different policies, which I'm happy to go through, but they add up to over $20 billion worth of investment into housing. We have inherited a housing crisis coming into government. There was no focus on increasing supply under the former government. There was no interest from the Commonwealth government in social and affordable housing. Yes, we also recognise that, at the same time that we make all of those additional investments through programs like the National Housing Accord, the Social Housing Accelerator, the new homes bonus, the Housing Support Program, the work that we're doing with the states and territories on a national homelessness and housing agreement—whether it be through the investments in Housing Australia; whether it be through the increase in Commonwealth rent assistance, which we have provided; whether it's through the Help to Buy scheme, the home guarantee scheme or the extra money we've provided for homelessness funding; all of that is happening at the same time that we are making some additional investments in Northern Territory housing, recognising the particular circumstances that exist there, including poor housing quality, significant overcrowding that's happening in many communities and the fact that housing and providing suitable housing delivers additional benefits. For example, once people have housing, they are able to get work and support their families.

It is an important investment, and we're very pleased to be making that investment, finding room in the budget for that investment at the same time that we, without the support of those opposite in this chamber, are doing what we can across the board in housing more generally.

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

Senator Hanson, first supplementary?

Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

History tells us maintenance is often required within three months for these homes being built in remote communities, raising questions about the suitability of this housing. These houses are not looked after and are sometimes destroyed at ongoing costs to taxpayers in the millions. Will the minister please explain how the government justifies building 270 houses in remote areas at the cost of $400 million a year, or about $1.5 million per house, when your useless Housing Australia Future Fund only allocates $83,000 per house? (Time expired)

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

I don't accept that the Housing Australia Future Fund is useless. In fact, it is supporting a number of programs now, in conjunction with all of those other programs that I've just outlined, to increase the supply of social and affordable housing more generally and through other programs improve people's ability to get into the housing market to purchase their own home. So I don't accept that at all.

In terms of the commitment into the Northern Territory, the Northern Territory has the highest level of overcrowding in the country. The investment that we've announced is a 10-year commitment. It includes not only the construction of those houses to be built every year—270—but also to fund repairs and maintenance over time. I know, from the work that the Minister for Indigenous Australians is doing with the Minister for Housing and led by the Prime Minister in working with the Northern Territory government, that appropriate building materials and modern and good housing are fundamental to the success of this program.

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

Senator Hanson, second supplementary?

Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Will the minister also please explain how the government is helping to close the gaps by building homes in remote areas away from jobs, education and health facilities and admit that you are not closing the gaps but costing the taxpayers billions of dollars to keep Aboriginal Australians on welfare dependency with no hope for their future?

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

I don't accept that at all, Senator Hanson. I just do not accept that and the proposition you put. I thought everyone in this chamber accepted that closing the gap and the work that is being done about closing the gap are a shared commitment across this parliament. We are not making the gains that we would have hoped, and that's why our focus is on jobs, through the work that Minister Burney is leading; our focus is on housing; and it is on health. And it is to make sure that, where First Nations Australians live, particularly in those remote communities, they have adequate and appropriate housing. As I said, all of the evidence shows that, when there is adequate and appropriate housing, it delivers other social benefits as well, whether it be access to education, whether it be access to employment or whether it be around supporting family members who require care. For all of those, housing is fundamental to that. (Time expired)