PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS
Ms FERNANDO (Holt) (18:42): Housing is one of the great challenges facing our country. It is a challenge I hear about every week in Holt. I hear it from young people who are working hard and saving carefully but still feel the dream of owning a home is moving further away.
I hear it from families who want security, stability and a place to put down their roots. And I hear it from parents who worry their children may not have the same opportunities they had. A generation ago, buying a home was not easy.
It took time, sacrifice and careful saving. But for many Australians it felt possible. Today too many people are doing everything right and still cannot get into the market.
That is why this government is acting. The long-term answer is clear: we have to build more homes. More homes mean more choice, more affordability and more Australians getting the chance to live near work, family, school and community.
But housing does not get built by words alone. It needs roads. It needs water.
It needs drainage, utilities and local infrastructure. It needs the practical work that turns land into liveable communities. That is why the Albanese Labor government is investing a further $2 billion through the Local Infrastructure Fund.
This funding will help deliver the pipes, pavements and powerlines needed to unlock new housing projects. It is about unlocking the last-mile infrastructure that can hold back housing projects that are otherwise ready to go. This investment will support up to 65,000 new homes over the next decade.
It is practical, it is targeted and it is exactly the kind of work that growing communities like Holt need. This investment is part of our broader $47 billion Homes for Australia plan. We are making it easier to buy and better to rent, and we are building more homes.
We have expanded the five per cent deposit scheme to all first home buyers. In Holt, around 2,747 people have bought their first home because of this scheme. Those 2,747 are families, couples and young Australians who have been able to get into the market sooner.
This is what good governments should do—back people who are working hard and help them get ahead. We are also rolling out Help to Buy, supporting 10,000 low- and middle-income Australians into homeownership each year. We are delivering 55,000 social and affordable homes across the country.
But we also have to confront the parts of the system that have made it harder for first home buyers. For too long, the tax system has given investors an advantage over young Australians trying to buy their first home. It should not be easier for someone to buy their fifth property than it is for a nurse, a teacher, a tradie or a young family to buy their first.
That is why we are levelling the playing field through capital gains tax and negative gearing changes. This is not about attacking aspiration; it is about backing the aspiration of working people. It is about saying the dream of homeownership should not be reserved for those who already own property.
And that is the difference between this government and those opposite. They had nearly a decade in government to act on housing, and they failed. They invested just $123 million in housing-enabling infrastructure.
They said no to the Housing Australia Future Fund. They said no to Help to Buy. They said no to Build to Rent.
They said no to Labor's five per cent deposit scheme. In government they even said no to having a housing minister. Now they are saying no to giving first home buyers a fairer chance.
Their record is clear: when it comes to housing, they do not build; they block. I want to thank the Minister for Housing, Minister for Homelessness and Minister for Cities, the Hon. Clare O'Neil MP, for her work and leadership in driving this housing agenda.