Karen Grogan (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Let me start with a number: 40,000. That's quite a big number. Obviously, it depends on what you are talking about. It's quite a big number when you think of it in terms of houses—40,000 houses. That's 40,000 individuals or couples or families, with a home—40,000. It's quite a big number, and, with the crisis we're seeing from the neglect of the previous government of our housing system, 40,000 homes, and 40,000 families, couples or singles moving into new homes, buying their own home, would indeed have a significant impact.

To each one of those 40,000 families, couples or individuals: I can tell you what we've seen play out in this chamber over the last two days, and what we've seen play out in the debate over the last two years on housing. We've seen those opposite in the coalition say, 'You don't deserve it. Assistance from the government in housing? You don't deserve it.' And what we've seen the Greens political party down there say to those 40,000 individuals, couples and families is: 'You're not worth it.' That is disgraceful—disgraceful, as they stand there and just keep on pumping the same story: 'Oh, it's not enough, so it's not worth it.'

To those 40,000 families, couples and children—all of those people desperate to buy their own home and move into their own home, while a government is desperately trying to do that as one part of a strategy—the Greens are saying, 'You're not worth it.' It's a disgrace, and the behaviour intended to ensure that we don't go to a vote because you're so humiliated by the way you're going to vote is a disgrace. (Time expired)