Portfolio — 5 June 2026

Assistant Minister Julian Hill was active across two distinct policy domains this week, combining a substantial research infrastructure funding announcement with a sharp parliamentary intervention on housing affordability.

On the comms side, the Government announced $323.7 million in new National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) funding split across two rounds. The larger allocation — $274.1 million — backs 28 "Step Change" projects aimed at developing new and emerging research infrastructure, while $49.6 million sustains 25 existing national research facilities.

The most specific investment within the package is $17 million directed to the ACCESS-NRI climate-modelling system, which is intended to sharpen Australia-specific weather and climate forecasting capability [TA-260528-educat-3a9ada3e9510]. That investment sits at the intersection of scientific infrastructure and climate policy, and the observations flag it as touching both the Science and Climate and Energy domains — a cross-portfolio dimension worth tracking as the government develops its broader climate resilience messaging.

The portfolio's stated approach across the NCRIS announcement is collaborative, multi-partner investment that pairs physical equipment with skilled personnel to sustain world-class research assets.

In the House, Hill made a forceful contribution on housing affordability, framing the problem in generational terms [TA-260604-house-97eb5e75391c:s104]. He argued that house prices have risen twice as fast as wages and incomes over the past 20 years and characterised the trend as unsustainable. His stated policy objective is to reverse that ratio — ensuring real wage growth outpaces house-price growth for the next generation.

To ground the argument, he cited the opposition leader's Narrabundah property, which he said rose in value from $420,000 in 2006 to $900,000 today. He attributed 75,000 additional Australians entering the housing market to the government's proposed changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax, and described the opposition's superannuation housing policy as "pouring petrol on a bin fire" on the grounds that it would worsen affordability rather than address it.

The two streams sit in different portfolios — research infrastructure and housing — but together they show Hill operating as an active ministerial communicator on the government's investment and equity agenda. The NCRIS announcement reflects the portfolio's emphasis on sovereign scientific capability; the housing debate contribution reflects the government's effort to prosecute tax reform as an affordability measure against opposition alternatives.

Policy staff tracking Hill's messaging should note that the ACCESS-NRI climate investment may invite further questions about the government's integrated approach to climate science infrastructure, while the housing debate framing — particularly the 75,000-entrant projection and the negative gearing and capital gains tax changes — signals that Hill is a willing advocate for policies likely to remain contested ground.