CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS

Mrs ELLIOT (Richmond) (09:59): In my electorate, one of the major issues people continue to raise is housing and housing affordability. The Albanese Labor government is taking action to deliver real change. Under our government, we've made the biggest investment in housing in our nation's history.

Of course, in comparison, we see the previous Liberal-National government, which blatantly ignored and neglected the worsening housing situation. In my electorate, we've helped 616 people enter the housing market with the five per cent deposit scheme and supported more than 14,000 renters with our 50 per cent increase to Commonwealth rent assistance. The fact is that we are indeed in a housing crisis and we need more homes.

That's why the Albanese Labor government and the New South Wales Labor government are focused on boosting supply on the New South Wales North Coast. Construction is underway on more than 100 new social homes, which will provide more safe and secure housing for our local community. There are also 800 new homes planned for the old Tweed hospital site.

This builds on the funding that Labor has already delivered towards 70 supported temporary accommodation units in Tweed Heads South that provide urgent relief for some of the most vulnerable members of our community. Our reforms to negative gearing and capital gains tax will help more young people get into a home of their own, because the Australian dream is to buy your first home.

Under nine years of the Liberals and the Nationals, they built just 373 social and affordable homes nationally. They didn't even have a housing minister for most of their time in office. In New South Wales, the Liberals and the Nationals sold over $3 billion worth of social housing—more than 4,000 homes.

Indeed, it's the Liberals and the Nationals that created this housing crisis, and now they just want to do absolutely nothing about it. They also promised to abolish Housing Australia, and they've proven time and time again that they'll work with anyone to block more homes. We all remember when the Liberals, the Nationals and the Greens teamed up to try and stop Labor's record investment in the Housing Australia Future Fund, Help to Buy and built to rent.

To make all of that worse, if any combination or coalition of the Liberals, the Nationals and One Nation win the next election, it's clear they'll also work on destroying the superannuation system and make Australians worse off. It's beyond doubt that any government with One Nation in it will raid Australia's superannuation. One Nation will destroy superannuation and destroy the economic security and retirement incomes of Australian workers.

This is the single biggest threat to the superannuation system in four decades. Of course, during COVID, 30-year-olds who withdrew $20,000 reduced their end balance, on average, by about $93,000. One nation will end superannuation as we know it, and workers will be poorer as a consequence.

Instead of providing meaningful help to access housing, One Nation wants to force Australians to raid their retirement savings. The fact is that it's the Labor Party that built our superannuation system, and we're making it stronger. It's only Labor that will defend it, and we will constantly defend it because it is so important for our nation.