Andrew Bragg (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Home Ownership) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Treasurer, Senator Gallagher. I refer to recent reporting in the Financial Review that new housing supply will soon hit the lowest levels in a decade. Are higher interest rates and punitive new industrial relations laws hurting or helping the housing construction sector?

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

I'll tell you what hasn't helped housing is the Commonwealth not having a policy on it for 10 years when they were in government. I'll tell you what hasn't helped the housing shortage is a migration system that was broken under Mr Dutton and has required fixing. I'll tell you what else hasn't helped housing and the housing shortage: the skills shortage that we have after years of failure to invest in vocational education and training, something we are also fixing. I'll also tell you what's not helping is those opposite continuously opposing every measure that we try to put in place to address housing supply, like the Housing Australia Future Fund, for example, where we get an ongoing stream of funding going into social and affordable housing, or some of our other initiatives, whether it be Help to Buy, Build to Rent. You are opposed to all of those.

We have an enormous amount of investment going into housing. We recognise that not enough has been done, particularly over the last decade, when the only answer to the housing shortage was to ransack your super in order to pay a deposit, which would have directly increased the cost of housing. We are getting on with the job. We are getting on with the job of building houses, whether they be social and affordable houses or getting people into home ownership or the work that national cabinet is doing around renters' rights—acknowledging a large part of the population are renting now.

We are doing everything we can, and I would say to Senator Bragg, if he is genuinely interested in housing beyond superannuation for housing, 'Work with us on this to increase supply, work with the states and territories, work with local government, to make sure that we're doing everything we can to increase housing supply in this country.'

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

Senator Bragg, a first supplementary?

Andrew Bragg (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Home Ownership) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Do you believe that you'll ever get to your target of 1.2 million new homes by 2029?

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

We're proud of setting a target and then putting everything we can and then underpinning that with all of the policies that we need to drive that. We've put the effort in to drive the change that's needed in this country. This did not happen overnight. I love the fact that those opposite decide that, now that they're in opposition, they're going to get interested in housing and housing affordability. When they were in government for 10 years, there was zero interest. There were cuts to the homelessness and housing agreement. There was a withdrawal of the Commonwealth from the housing space. From day one, we have fronted up and said: 'We are involved in this. We are prepared to fund it.' We have put billions of dollars into driving supply, and we are working to achieve all of those targets. That involves the private sector, it involves the states and territories, and it involves the Commonwealth. (Time expired)

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

Senator Bragg, a second supplementary?

Andrew Bragg (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Home Ownership) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, the Labor government's policy appears to have one central aim, which is to get the super funds to own the houses in Australia. Why is the government so preoccupied by its own vested interests rather than developing and creating solutions—

Government Senators:

Government senators interjecting—

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

Order!

Andrew Bragg (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Home Ownership) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Sorry; I can't hear myself over the din here. Why is the government so preoccupied with your favourite vested interests rather than trying to find—

Government senators interjecting—

Sorry; it's hard to hear, President.

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

Senator Bragg, I have called the chamber to order. You are wasting time. Please finish your question.

Andrew Bragg (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Home Ownership) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Why are vested interests more important than the national interest here?

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

What a load of rubbish that question is! Go and have a look. Engage in the debate on the numerous housing policies we have. I accept that Senator Bragg doesn't like the superannuation industry. I sit in estimates; I listen to him every estimates session seeking to undermine and attack superannuation. I do find it interesting that those that seek to undermine superannuation all have superannuation, and they're all prepared to say to everybody else, 'You should ransack your super,' instead of actually dealing with the housing policy and the measures that need to be put in place to drive the change.

We have a coordinated plan. It's being led by Julie Collins from the other place. It's being led by the Treasurer. It's being led by the Prime Minister. First ministers are standing up. Mayors are standing up. Everybody recognises we've got to do more on housing, and this government is prepared to do it.