TRANSCRIPT
The Federal Government has reintroduced the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund to the Lower House of Parliament.
The government's centrepiece housing policy would deliver 30,000 social and affordable housing in five years.
Housing Minister Julie Collins says the most vulnerable Australians need homes to be built.
“Vulnerable Australians need the thousands of homes that the Housing Australia Future Fund will deliver. That is why today I am reintroducing the Housing Australia Future Fund Bill 2023 and related bills into the House of Representatives. When I stood in this place many months ago to first introduce these bills I said the Housing Australian Future Fund will be the start of an enduring promise from the Australian Government that more Australians will have a safe affordable place to call home."
The bill has been stalled and blocked by the Greens and Coalition in the Senate for months.
The Coalition says they will not support the bill, claiming it will fuel inflation, leaving the government having to negotiate with the Greens to pass the bill when it will be voted on again in October.
The Greens are asking for a $2.5 billion a year direct investment into social and affordable housing and a two year national rent freeze followed by a cap on rent increases.
Greens' Housing spokesman Max Chandler-Mather says the Greens have been willing to compromise but the reintroduced bill has remained the same.
"This is a housing bill that doesn't guarantee a cent in funding for public and affordable housing. We'll see the housing crisis get worse and does nothing for renters. I want to be clear The Greens have bent over backwards to negotiate a plan with the government that would at least start to tackle the scale of the housing crisis. We halved our initial ask of $5 billion to two and a half billion dollars a year for public and affordable housing. And we want the federal government to finally take leadership at national cabinet and push and coordinate a national freeze and cap on rent increases."
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pointed to housing and building organisations supporting the bill, saying it will allow homes to begin being built.
"We know the Housing Australia Future Fund was the centerpiece of my second budget reply. The Australian people voted for it. It is supported by housing and homeless groups across the board, the Master Builders Association or organisations like Shelter. It will work alongside our other policies including the $2 billion social housing accelerator to build more homes in every state and territory."
The Parliament has however passed the government's increases to welfare payments, including a 56-dollar a fortnight increase to JobSeeker from September 20.
The Greens and Coalition both moved amendments to allow welfare recipients to work more hours before losing some of their payments, however they failed.
Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth says the increase should ease the cost of living pressures for the most vulnerable.
"This passing of our Safety Net Bill means that around 2 million Australians will get extra support from the 20th of September. It will deliver an increase to the base rate of JobSeeker and student payments and other working age payments to support those doing it tough with the cost of living. It will also give one of the largest increases of rent assistance, indeed, the largest increase in rent assistance for the last 30 years."
