GRIEVANCE DEBATE

Ms WITTY (Melbourne) (13:00): Today I rise to speak as the voice of thousands of people in my community of Melbourne who are right now in the midst of a housing crisis. Housing is a fundamental human right. It's where we raise our children, build our futures, seek safety, maintain security and uphold our dignity.

But right now, for far too many people in Melbourne and across Australia, that foundation is cracking. Whether you are a young couple trying to buy your first home, a single parent facing rising rents or an older Australian wondering how long you can hold on in this housing market, the crisis is real, and it's urgent. In Melbourne, we're feeling it enormously.

We are a city of renters, of students, of workers, of new migrants and of young families. Housing is not just an economic issue; it is a social justice issue, a human rights issue and a generational issue. In my first months as the member for Melbourne, I've heard from people from every walk of life.

I've heard from renters who've been saving for years to buy a home. They are priced out of the area they grew up in. Even for couples with two steady incomes, scrapping together a deposit means cutting back, delaying dreams and stretching every dollar.

The hurdle isn't just financial. It weighs on hope, on plans to grow a family and on the simple wish to feel secure in your own home. I've heard from pensioners whose rents keep going up, forcing people to choose between heating their homes and buying medicine.

I've heard from housing providers and community organisations that are seeing more families than ever before coming before them to ask for help for the first time. These are people who have planned, worked hard and built lives in their communities, never thinking they'd be faced with housing insecurity. Now they're making impossible choices, stretching every dollar and searching for stability in a system that has left them behind.

These are the stories I carry with me into this place. I will not stop speaking up until every Australian has access to a safe, secure and affordable place to call their own. Labor's housing agenda is to build a better future where everyone can have a home.

This government recognises the scale of the challenge, and we are responding. We are not tinkering around the edges; we are rebuilding the foundation. At the heart of our plan is one simple truth: the best way to fix a housing shortage is to build more housing.

That's why Labor has committed to the most ambitious national housing agenda in generations. We are building 1.2 million new, well located homes by the end of this decade. That's not just a number; it's a lifeline.

It means homes near jobs, transport and schools; it means growth done smart, not sprawl done badly; and it means creating the kinds of communities where people can live, work and thrive. We're doing this in partnership with state and territory governments, local councils, the construction sector and the not-for-profit housing providers who know how to get things done.

We've established the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund, which will deliver 30,000 new social and affordable homes in its first five years. This includes creating 4,000 homes for women and children escaping domestic violence, which is the leading cause of homelessness for women, giving them space to heal, rebuild and reclaim safety. We are building homes for older women at risk of homelessness.

Can you believe older women are the fastest-growing group facing this issue? We will have support for veterans, for people experiencing homelessness and for low-income workers in essential jobs. These homes won't just sit on a spreadsheet; they'll be in places like Richmond, North Melbourne and Prahran.

They will be built to last, with stability at their core and dignity in their design. And we are backing in first-home buyers, the people working hard and saving every dollar while still struggling to get into their own home. Under the Help to Buy scheme, eligible low- and middle-income Australians will need a much smaller deposit, with the government stepping in as a partner in their homeownership journey.

We are making sure the dream of homeownership is not out of reach for an entire generation. That matters, because homeownership is more than a roof over our heads; it's stability, it's security, and it's a foundation for families and the future. Along with Labor, I believe in that dream, and together we are working, pushing and fighting to keep it alive for every Australian.

But we also know that more than one-third of Australians rent their homes, and for many that's not just a stepping stone; it's a long-term reality. That's why we are backing renters' rights. We are funding states and territories to improve rental laws and to end unfair evictions, and to give renters real power in negotiations.

We are delivering cost-of-living relief that directly helps renters—cutting HECS debts, cheaper medicines, energy bill relief, and record investment in Medicare—so people don't fall further behind when life gets tough, because when rents go up and wages don't keep up, every little bit helps. We are also tackling the things that make housing hard to build, like slow planning approvals, red tape and a lack of infrastructure.

Through the Housing Support Program we are funding the roads, the water, the parks and the public transport that make new housing possible. We are unlocking more land for housing and making sure that what gets built actually meets community needs, not just developer profits. We want density done well—not just more homes, but better homes with walkability, access to green space and strong local character.

Ours is a Labor government that shows up. This is what it means to govern with Labor values. We don't leave it to the market; we show up, we invest and we plan for the future, not just the next election.

Housing is not a commodity, it is not a luxury—it is a human right. And this is not just a policy challenge; it's a moral one, because if we can't make sure people have a roof over their head, what kind of country are we? Labor is the party that built the housing commission homes of the postwar era and supported the first-home buyers of the 1980s, and now we are building a housing system that works again for renters, for buyers, for people doing it tough and for the next generation.

I believe in a Melbourne and in an Australia where no-one is priced out of their community, where our kids don't have to move two hours away to afford a home, where our nurses, our teachers and our aged-care workers—all the people who got us through the hard times—can live near the people they care for. That is the future I am fighting for. I am proud to be part of a government that is taking action not just with words but with bricks and mortar, with dollars and determination.

Let's build the homes, let's fix the system, let's restore the dream, because housing is not just about shelter; it's about dignity, it's about fairness and it's about building our future together.