DOCUMENTS

Senator McKENZIE (Victoria—Leader of the Nationals in the Senate) (09:17): I rise to also take note of the nonanswer given by the minister. Once again, Labor ministers enter the Senate chamber and refuse to be transparent with orders that the whole Senate has agreed they should comply with. The order that we're debating here is for a request for information from June.

It's now mid-October. You'd think they could find the documents. In order to access the five per cent deposit scheme, you actually have to have a house.

You actually have to put that on your application. The support is given to you so the government knows exactly where these people reside. The only reason they are refusing to comply with the order of the Senate is that they're embarrassed.

They're absolutely embarrassed about another failed housing policy, a housing policy that has seen over 51,000 noncitizens access the scheme. We heard Minister Ayres and previous speakers stand up and talk about how they 'want more Australians to own a home'. Well, stop giving taxpayer money to non-Australians—51,000, in fact.

When we think about getting young Australians in particular into homes, we want to make sure that those that are earning the median income in this country can help get them into their first home. But what does Labor do? They're supporting the fat cats.

If you earn $600,000, you can access this scheme—taxpayer support competing against tradies and hairdressers trying to get into their first home. So it is no wonder the Labor Party is ashamed to come in and actually put on the public record the failure of this housing policy. They should hang their heads in shame.

I'll tell you what—they've been hanging their heads in shame all week. We've got the Treasurer and the PM at war with each other. Poor Chalmers!

The PM just keeps driving that bus over him, reversing back over— Senator McKENZIE: Roadkill? No, sorry—I'll take that interjection but then reject it! Senator McKENZIE: It's not.

Treasurer Chalmers and Prime Minister Albanese are at war with each other. We've seen that the Prime Minister had to backflip—to override his Treasurer, time and time again. Now the backbench are in revolt because they're sick and tired of having to defend the indefensible from this government.

Here we have Labor senator after Labor senator come in and try to say they shouldn't have to comply with an order of the Australian Senate. Well, sorry, that's the great privilege of being in government. When the Senate orders the production of documents, you may not like it, but you need to comply because that's what a democracy is about.

The Australian people deserve to know where these first home buyer grants have gone to and whether those individuals are now in negative equity because the other policies you put in place around the housing industry have meant that prices have plunged. These first home buyers are now in negative equity. When this was first raised, the Labor Party didn't know what negative equity was.

Remember that ABC interview where poor old Matt Thistlethwaite struggled to explain what negative equity is? That's where the Labor Party's economic agenda on housing leaves first home buyers. This government's lack of compliance with the Senate's order for the production of documents is staggering.

And what do they do? Minister after minister and senator after senator come in and complain about needing transparency. It is the Australian Senate that has required this on behalf of the Australian people, and you are beholden to comply with it.

It shouldn't be up to us to have to use freedom of information processes to back up the order for the production of documents. Stop being ashamed of your policy. We know it's failed.

We know that people are in negative equity. We know that non-Australians are accessing the schemes. We know that fat cats are able to access your schemes because you are a failure at economic management and at getting Australians into homes.

That's okay. Why don't you be men and women of conviction and responsibility—leaders? Own your failure and get on about fixing it instead of pretending it's not happening.