Tammy Tyrrell (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I know what it's like to be on the waitlist for public housing. I was a single mum and a carer for my nephew, and I had a very tight budget. I know the value of having somewhere safe to live that is yours, whether that be social housing, somewhere you're renting or a place you have a mortgage on. Not all of us have that. For all of us to have that, we need more homes. This is something I fought hard for when negotiating for Tasmania to have a minimum guarantee of 1,200 homes as part of the Housing Australia Future Fund negotiations. We really need those homes in Tassie, and I know it's the same in your electorates as well.

I recently attended the Civil Contractors Federation Tasmania Earth Awards dinner in Hobart. It was great to meet the members, but what I was really interested in was how these civil construction projects were going to help us get more people into homes. I clapped as Tasmanian civil construction operators, contractors, trainees and apprentices won awards for projects, management, innovation, training, environmental management and safety, but I really wanted to hear more about the medium- and high-density projects that will house the Tasmanians who need somewhere to live.

We know house prices won't shift until housing supply is addressed. We know rents will stay high while there isn't enough housing stock to rent. The simple fact is that we don't have enough houses for Tasmanians. We don't have enough houses for people across this country. The solution to a lack of houses to buy and rent is to build more houses, and that's what the HAFF is supposed to do. We've already voted to build these homes, so let's make them happen.

Congratulations to all the award winners at the Civil Contractors Federation Tasmanian Earth Awards. We need more of the housing projects you're putting your hearts and souls into for the future.