Jana Stewart (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Housing and the Minister for Homelessness, Senator Farrell. Australians are doing it tough right now, and housing is a big part of that story. After a decade of neglect from the Liberals and Nationals, Australians are facing long queues for rentals and enormous first home deposits. What is the Albanese Labor government doing to get more Australians into homeownership through the Help to Buy scheme, including in my home state of Victoria?

Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade and Tourism) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Stewart, for that question and the great work that you do for the people of Victoria. I know that thousands of people in Victoria who stand to benefit from the Help to Buy scheme will be keen to hear the answer to this question. For 40,000 people across Australia, a door to homeownership has opened today. If you're a low- or middle-income Australian looking to get into homeownership—

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

It doesn't work for real income—

Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade and Tourism) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No, it does; it's going to help—the Help to Buy scheme will give you that opportunity. We've got a generation of low- and middle-income young people who are stuck in rent traps. They're angry. They're frustrated. They feel genuine despair that homeownership may never happen for them. They've seen the dream of homeownership slip away from their grasp. Our Help to Buy legislation will help change this. With legislation up from the government, Help to Buy means a smaller mortgage and a smaller deposit to help eligible Aussies get onto the housing ladder. This is the kind of work that will only ever be delivered by good Labor governments—

Government senators: Hear, hear!

Yes, hear, hear—because only Labor has an ambitious, extensive agenda when it comes to housing, making it easier to build, to rent and to buy. After a decade of neglect in housing by the Liberals and the Nationals, they've abandoned the idea that working people should ever be able to own their own home. Only Labor will help more Australians into homeownership.

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

Senator Stewart, first supplementary?

Jana Stewart (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In government, the Liberals and Nationals vacated the housing policy space for a decade, not even having a housing minister for most of that time. How is the Albanese Labor government working to put homeownership back within reach for Australians, and what is standing in the way?

Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade and Tourism) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Stewart for her first supplementary question.

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

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

I'm sorry, Minister Farrell; please resume your seat.

Opposition senators interjecting—

Order! Please continue.

Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade and Tourism) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think you've hit the nail on the head here, and the reaction by those opposite, I think, shows that. The senator knows as well as anyone else that there is no silver bullet, unfortunately, to the housing crisis. This problem has been 30 years in the making—

It was made worse, Senator Cash, by the Liberals and the Nationals, who spent their time on the front benches twiddling their thumbs on an issue they determine to be a little tricky. They had no housing minister, they had no ambition and—worst of all—they had no plan for homeownership. The result is that Australia has been left with a housing shortage. That's why the Albanese Labor government has a housing plan, investing $32 billion to build 1.2 million new homes. (Time expired)

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

Senator Stewart, second supplementary?

Jana Stewart (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today the Albanese Labor government secured passage of the Help to Buy Bill in the Senate. What does this mean for tens of thousands of Australians, including cleaners, early educators and aged-care workers, who might finally now be able to realise a dream of owning their own home?

Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade and Tourism) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Stewart for her second supplementary question. This bill has been before the parliament for far too long—far too long—but we welcome the support that this bill has now received from the crossbench. This is delivering hope to thousands of Australians. It means security and stability. It means the ability to put down roots and to take those big life decisions, such as whether to start a family.

This Labor government is turning promises into progress, delivering every day, delivering for every generation, delivering for every Australian. The Liberals just get in the way. Being arrogant gets you nowhere. Being reckless builds nothing. It's the Labor government that gets things done.