E&OE Transcript
JULIE COLLINS, MINISTER FOR HOUSING: What we saw yesterday in the Senate, really, is politics above people. What we're doing as a government is getting on with the job and delivering more houses for Australians that need it. What the Housing Australia Future Fund would deliver is 30,000 social and affordable rental homes for Australians that need the most. For people who are currently on public housing waiting lists, and indeed for key workers in terms of affordable rentals. People like policemen and people like nurses, who would be eligible for affordable housing so that they can live close to where they work.
What we saw yesterday was further delays. What we know is that delays mean a cost to people on the ground. What delays mean is $1.3 million every day after the first of July in money that wouldn't be going into social and affordable housing in Australia. What it means is $250 million every six months of delay. What we're doing as a government is getting on with the job of delivering more houses. You've seen us at every opportunity add to our broad housing agenda - the $575 million immediately, the Housing Accord in our first budget, changes to Build-to-Rent, the Commonwealth Rent Assistance and indeed more financing for social and affordable homes in the last budget. And our announcement just last weekend of a $2 billion Social Housing Accelerator, which is actually working with states and territories to get more supply on the ground - not just of public and social housing, but indeed in terms of planning reforms. We have a supply issue here in Australia. We need to get more homes on the ground and that's what we focused on, and we're getting on with the job.
JOURNALIST: Is this enough to trigger a double dissolution?
COLLINS: We're getting on with the job of delivering homes. That's what people expect from us. We know that Australians are doing it tough. We know that too many Australians can't find a safe, affordable place to call home, which is why we're getting on with the job of delivering houses. We have homes under construction today, thousands of homes because of decisions we have taken as a government. We're stepping up to the plate. We're working with states and territories, with local government, with the community housing sector and indeed with the construction sector, who we know need this funding today.
JOURNALIST: Will you bring it back? Sorry, will you bring it back in October?
COLLINS: We're looking at all of the options in terms of delivering on our housing agenda. We took the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund to the last election. What we saw yesterday in Canberra was also homeless service providers, housing providers, community housing providers and experts all saying that the Housing Australian Future Fund should pass the Parliament. What we're talking about here was a fund that that in perpetuity each and every year would be delivering at least $500 million into social and affordable rental homes in Australia. That's what our construction sector needs in Australia. It needs less stop-start and more continually increasing in terms of investment. That's what the Fund was all about. And what I would say to the senators, to the people in the Senate, is the time for delays is costing people on the ground. This is not about what happens in this place. This is about people on the ground, Australians that are doing it tough.
JOURNALIST: Just to clarify with Rob's question, though, will you bring it back in October or not? Yes or no.
COLLINS: We're looking at what we're doing, what options are available to us. You saw that last weekend when we announced our $2 billion Social Housing Accelerator. What we want to do is get on with building homes. That's what the Australian people expect us to do, and that's what we’re going to do.
JOURNALIST: So does that mean, as you mentioned what you did on the weekend, that $2 billion, are you suggesting you'll do more of those programs in the future instead of trying to push through the housing bill?
COLLINS: We'll be looking at all the options available to us. What we want to do is get on with the job of delivering homes. There are homes under construction today because of decisions we have taken as a federal government, homes that otherwise would not be under construction. We're working with our partners in the states and territories, local government and the community housing sector to deliver homes each and every day. And we're going to continue to do that.
JOURNALIST: But given that the Greens are obstructing the housing fund, will the government consider working a lot more closely with the states and territories and just bypass the Greens altogether?
COLLINS: We'll be looking at all of our options, and that's what you've seen us do today. We want to get on with the job of building homes. Australians that are doing a tough, that can't afford to get a safe, affordable home cannot afford further delays. As I said, these delays are costing people on the ground that need homes today. We're about delivering for Australians. That's what they elected us to do, and we're going to get on with the job of delivering more homes each and every day from here on-
JOURNALIST: So is the future fund dead?
COLLINS: We’ll continue to deliver homes each and every day. That's what the Australian people elected us to do, and we'll look at all the options available to us to be able to do that. Thanks.