MATTERS OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE
Senator WALKER (South Australia) (16:55): Well, we have to admire Senator Bragg's energy. To come into this chamber and lecture the government about housing, after the coalition spent nearly a decade watching the problem get worse, takes some nerve. For most of that time, they didn't even bother having a housing minister.
Now Senator Bragg has discovered housing. He's passionate about it—deeply concerned. He's got speeches, interviews, opinion pieces.
At this rate he'll be launching a housing themed podcast and interviewing himself about the issue. What he still doesn't have is a practical housing policy. Labor has a $47 billion housing agenda focused on building more homes, making renting fairer and helping Australians buy their first home.
That is almost 10 times what the coalition invested during nearly a decade in government. We're working towards 1.2 million new homes. We're delivering 55,000 social and affordable rental homes and building 100,000 homes reserved for first home buyers.
The budget includes another $2 billion for enabling infrastructure, unlocking 65,000 homes. That means pipes, roads, pavements and powerlines, because houses can't be built from press releases and vibes. We've expanded the five per cent deposit scheme to all first home buyers.
We've launched Help to Buy, allowing eligible buyers to enter the market with a mortgage up to 40 per cent smaller. We're limiting negative gearing for residential property to new builds from 2027-28 and replacing the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount with inflation-adjusted indexation. These reforms are expected to help around 75,000 first home buyers into the market over the next decade.
What has the opposition done with all of this? They voted no on Help to Buy, voted no on the five per cent deposit scheme, voted no on the Housing Australia Future Fund, voted no on build to rent, and voted no on tens of thousands of social and affordable homes. The coalition has opposed so many housing measures that it's harder to work out what they're for than what they're against—although, I must say, they are remarkably consistent.
If a policy might help build more homes, they'll vote against it. Then they turn around and demand to know why the government isn't doing more. Senator Bragg, however, wasn't content with simply opposing solutions.
When Australians wanted a fairer housing market, his only suggestion was that they 'need a new brain'—a bold diagnosis from someone whose party's housing proposal was, 'Have you considered emptying your super?' Young Australians have spent years working, saving and watching house prices skyrocket. Since 1999, prices have risen by 400 per cent, the median home costs more than eight times the average income, and saving a deposit can take more than a decade.
Apparently Senator Bragg looked at all of that and diagnosed a brain problem. I would suggest that the only smooth-brain antics are coming from that side of the chamber. The coalition went to the last election wanting Australians to raid their super to buy a home, to pump more money into the housing market while leaving people poorer in retirement.
And now the old mate has suffered the ultimate indignity: One Nation has beaten him to it. Imagine making a tax on super such a central feature of your political career, only to wake up one morning and discover that One Nation has stolen your trick. The Liberal/One Nation policy factory is clearly operating at max capacity.
Unfortunately, quality control remains an issue. Analysis from the Super Members Council found a typical 30-year-old full-time worker could be around $25,000 worse off in retirement under One Nation's plan. Australians deserve better than Senator Bragg and One Nation competing to see who's better at depleting their super.
Labor wants young Australians to buy a home without sacrificing their retirement to do it. We're building homes and funding the infrastructure to unlock more of them. We're backing first home buyers and changing tax settings that have been stacked against young people for decades.
Senator Bragg can keep firing off hot takes from the sidelines. After nearly a decade of a coalition government, Australians have already seen what happens when his side gets the keys. They definitely didn't build enough houses with them.
Debate interrupted.