QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
Senator WATT (Queensland—Minister for the Environment and Water) (14:57): Thanks, Senator Walker, who I know is a fierce advocate of the needs of younger Australians when it comes to housing. The Albanese Labor government is taking decisive action to cut through the red tape and delays in approvals that have held up the construction of more homes. After a decade of delay under the coalition where we saw no investment in social and affordable housing, we're speeding up approvals to build homes more quickly.
For too many builders in Australia, it takes longer to get approval for a home than it does to build one, and this has held back housing supply and made it harder for ordinary Australians to get into a home of their own. Our reforms to the EPBC Act will speed up environmental assessments and approvals while strengthening environmental protections. But we're not waiting for those reforms to commence; we're taking action now.
Last year we established a new housing strike team within my department to accelerate assessment of the more than 26,000 homes that were with the department for assessment. Since the announcement of the housing strike team in late August 2025, tens of thousands of new homes have been approved by the Albanese government. Senator Bragg: How many have been approved?
Senator WATT: Senator Bragg, we're always happy to answer a question about housing and the environment, but you just don't seem to make the cut, so we'll take the questions and let you know. In total, the government has given 26 housing projects the green light since that time, supporting 19,889 new homes. The projects include 15 metropolitan developments, supporting 16,210 new homes, and 11 regional developments, supporting 3,679 new homes.
Most recently, approval was given to our new housing development in Thurgoona, in an electorate that we know quite a few people over there have got an interest in—it's the electorate of Farrer. And that development will include 425 homes, roads and infrastructure and a school. We're on track to deliver on our goal from the economic roundtable of assessing 26,000 new homes by July this year.
The PRESIDENT: Senator Walker, first supplementary?