PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS

Ms FRANCE (Dickson) (18:49): For generations, homeownership was the cornerstone of the great Australian dream. It meant stability, security and the chance to build a future for your family. But over the last 10 years, that dream has got dramatically harder to achieve for young Australians, families and those who have gone through a divorce.

Since 2020, the cost of homes across South-East Queensland has more than doubled in six years. Brisbane's median house price in May was $1.2 million, well beyond what the average first home buyer could ever afford. For gen Xers like me, who bought their first home 20 years ago, 'we're okay Jack'.

But for those who've been desperately saving over the last few years, it's like watching sand through the hourglass. That's why we are tackling housing from every angle. Our $47 billion housing investment is focused on three priorities: building new homes, building more social and affordable homes, and backing first home buyers.

We know we are playing catch-up on housing. When we came to government in 2022, we inherited 10 years of total neglect from the coalition on housing. Those opposite had no national housing strategy or plan for supply, affordability or homelessness.

There was not even a Minister for Housing and almost no investment in social and affordable homes. In nine years, they built just 373 social and affordable homes. We are now investing more on housing and building more homes than any government since the postwar period.

We're seeing that pay off in real time in Queensland. Over 32,000 Brisbane locals have become brand new first home owners, with Labor's five per cent deposit scheme. Labor's Help to Buy scheme has helped 927 people on lower and moderate incomes into homeownership in the greater Brisbane area, including in my home area of Moreton Bay.

The Labor government is also making it better to rent. Over 170,000 households in my electorate and the greater Brisbane area are supported by our Commonwealth Rent Assistance program. Since we came to government, we've increased the maximum rate of rent assistance by over 50 per cent.

We've invested $300 million in new housing infrastructure across Queensland. That's the roads, the plumbing and the wiring to enable developers to construct new homes in new estates. We know supply has contributed to rental increases and pushed up the cost of buying a home.

Young Aussies have felt for a long time that the housing market is rigged against them. Young people have been working hard, hustling, studying, saving, staying at home longer and sacrificing to save a deposit only to watch homeownership pass them by. Even if they have saved enough for a deposit, they have been pipped at the finishing line by investors, many of whom owning more than three investment properties.

Labor recognised the need for change to level the playing field for first home buyers. That's why we made changes to a tax system that benefitted investors over those who wanted a home to live in. Our changes to negative gearing mean first home buyers are no longer competing with investors, and investors are now incentivised to buy new builds to add to the national housing stock.

Already, we are seeing the impact of these changes. We're seeing first home buyers going to auctions and bidding against other first home buyers, not investors. We're seeing an increased share of house sales going to first home buyers rather than investors.

Hopefully, first home buyers aren't getting outbid at auctions month after month by investors with a property portfolio. Instead, first home buyers are finally going to auctions on a level playing field with a fair chance of getting a home of their own. The housing challenges we face today were decades in the making.

They will not be solved overnight, but, for the first time in a long time, Australia has a government with a serious plan, a clear vision and the determination to tackle the problem from every angle.