Housing
Transcript
Ms WARE (Hughes) (12:49): This motion concerns affordable housing. It makes reference to government spending of $32 billion, purportedly, on housing. I was in the chamber when my friend the member for Bennelong was talking about the fact that the current housing crisis is due to poor government. It's certainly something that I do agree with him on, because, after two years of Labor and now a second Minister for Housing, housing affordability does indeed remain a national crisis in our country. This is a crisis that the federal government can fix and has failed to fix.
Whether it be homeownership or rentals, social or emergency housing, the failure by the government to address supply shortages and instead spend more money on establishing funds and schemes—Labor governments always love establishing a fund. They love a scheme. None of these funds or schemes are going to build any more houses. The Prime Minister himself has had to admit to this failure on his housing policy by now introducing a new minister to try and fix this problem.
To recap, in March 2022 Anthony Albanese went to the Australian people and said, 'Under this government you will have cheaper mortgages and cheaper rents.' What has happened since the May election? Average Australian households, like those in my electorate of Hughes, have now paid more than $45,000 more since his government was elected, and that is absolutely due to the 12 successive interest rate rises in a row that we have had under this government. The Reserve Bank governor last week said that inflation is remaining high and interest rates will need to remain higher for longer as a result of federal and state Labor government overspending.
It's spending in the wrong place. The former housing minister announced $10 billion for housing. What did this $10 billion amount to, Deputy Speaker McKenzie? It was establishing the Housing Australia Future Fund, but this has proven to be nothing but a $30 million spend on consultants and executives associated with that fund. It's proven to be jobs for Labor mates, both directly and indirectly. Wayne Swan is involved with the HAFF in his dual role as Labor Party president and also head of the Cbus fund—Cbus, which has its own governance issues. For example, Cbus has CFMEU directors on its board. The CFMEU is massively contributing to inflating housing costs. There's a 30 per cent premium on all construction sites controlled by the CFMEU. But the government then wants to use Cbus funds to help with the housing fund. There should be no role for either Cbus or the CFMEU in any of the government housing schemes.
The new Minister for Housing has just reannounced the 1.2 million new homes for Australians. That's 240,000 homes that have to be built every year over five years. Eight years ago, we were building 240,000 homes per year. This year we'll be lucky to build 150,000 homes. And this government has failed on a very important factor dialling into housing affordability, which is to allow Australians the opportunity to use their superannuation, their own money, to invest in a home.
Deputy Speaker, I just want to read to you a letter I received recently from one of my constituents, Lyn, from Engadine. She points out that her youngest daughter, also a Jenny, aged 51, has three children in their 20s. She's working full time in a reasonably well paid job, she has a husband who is retired and they're paying over $1,200 per week in rent. She says: 'My daughter has never been able to own a property. She has a good amount of super, though, but she's unable to save any more for the deposit because of the huge amounts that she's paying in rent. However, if she could access her superannuation, she could now be into a home.'
What I say to Lyn and her daughter and her grandchildren is that this coalition, if in government, will allow people to access their superannuation—which is their own money. We'll allow Australians to have a choice as to whether or not they keep their money in superannuation or whether they use it to purchase a home. This will allow first home buyers into the market. It will also allow women who are coming out of a divorce or need to start their life again, and older women, the opportunity to purchase their own home.
This is a housing affordability crisis. It's a housing affordability crisis that this government has failed to address.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms McKenzie ): The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.