TRANSCRIPT:
A centrepiece policy in Labor's 2022 election campaign, legislation on Housing Australia Future Fund has been stuck in Senate for months.
At one point, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the stalled negotiations risked an early, double dissolution election.
Now a deal with the Greens means the legislation is now expected to pass the parliament this week.
Housing Minister Julie Collins says she will be moving quickly to establish the housing fund once the legislation is through.
"We anticipate that it will take weeks, hopefully less than a month to get the fund up and running - and then of course we need to wait for the returns. Which is why we have put in money up front in terms of getting more social and affordable homes on the ground through what will become Housing Australia - that is currently the National Housing Finance Investment Corporation."
The $10 billion fund creates a mechanism for federal government funds to flow into an ongoing pipeline of funding for social and affordable rental housing.
In the fund's first five years, the aim is to provide for 30,000 new social and affordable rental homes.
The federal government says it's the single biggest investment in the sector in more than a decade.
The Greens party say they support the legislation, after securing an additional $1 billion for public and community housing via the National Housing Infrastructure Facility.
The party's housing spokesman Max Chandler-Mather says the party will still push for a nationally co-ordinated rent freeze in the future.
"We understand there is going to be several more opportunities in this term of parliament when it comes to housing legislation. And we will be looking at those individually - looking at the details of those bills, and certainly we will be using our leverage to get outcomes for renters."
Master Builders Australia, which represents 32,000 businesses in the building and construction industry, says with the preparation work already happening in the background, new construction can begin very soon.
Denita Wawn is the organisation's CEO.
"The fund looks at 30,000 homes. And that is the really exciting thing is - can we actually utilise the government's funding as an opportunity to expand it with institutional investment. And that is what we're keen to see. So I'm not going to predict the number [of houses that we hope to build] because I'm hoping we can get more than just what has been allocated for direct investment by government."
Potential delays could arise with constraints on building supplies and workers. Ms Wawn says she hopes those obstacles can be overcome.
"The cost of supplies is certainly dissipating (easing) in terms of inflationary costs that we've been feeling over the last two years. The labour supply, we believe in the short-term, will not be as acute simply because we're not going to build as many houses in the next two years as we've done in the last two years. So we will have (labour) supply. Nevertheless, (long-term) supply (of labour) remains an issue. Particularly, as we ramp up the building of more homes from 2025 onwards."
The Property Council says it is pleased to finally start some concrete planning to help deliver on the new target to build 1.2 million homes by 2029 - under a deal agreed to by federal, state and territory leaders last month [[on 16 Aug - called the updated National Housing Accord.
Matthew Kandelaars is the council's group executive for national policy and advocacy.
"We now need to focus our attention on taking this from announcement to delivery. And that is where clear housing targets - and fixing broken state planning systems comes into play. It is critically important that we continue to address the entire housing continuum (housing supply for all Australians). So, yes the 30,000 new homes is a start - it is a very important start. But it is one step to meeting the 1.2 million homes by 2029."
The CEO of affordable housing group National Shelter, Emma Greenhalgh says many Australians on low-incomes will benefit from the 30,000 new social and affordable homes over the next five years - but there will need to be more homes built to meet the shortfall.
"It does include veterans. It does include First Nations people. It does include women escaping domestic violence. When we're talking about affordable housing, we're sort of looking at a separate cohort of people who are on a low income and who are possibly working and can afford to pay that little bit more. So in terms of what we understand (this announcement) is predominantly social housing, so for very low-income. But that is that affordable housing component that sits in there as well."
Wendy Hayhurst is the CEO of Community Housing Industry Association.
She estimates it will take 20 years to get on top of the shortfall and keep up with a growing population.
"So at the moment, the estimates that we have - if we're looking at who is in rental stress during the 2021 Census. It was 640,000 households. So that is a shortfall. We obviously need to keep pace with the growing population as well. So as I say: that can't be built all at once. That is why we're saying 20 years to get on top of the shortfall and keep pace with the growing demand that we know is going to occur - inevitable with a growing population."
She says there is a lot of room for improvement when it comes to federal government funding contributions towards social and affordable housing, which has dropped from a proportion of six per cent of housing supply after World War Two - to around four per cent.
In places like Scotland, the proportion is 20 per cent - and it's higher than that in parts of Europe.
Ms Hayhurst says targets would help ensure there is an adequate supply.
"They've recognised that social and affordable housing is not a welfare provision, but it actually helps productivity. It helps people get that stable accommodation - and they're not always at the threat of moving their children. They're stable in school. It is better for mental health. So it's been a general recognition that it is something that the government should invest in. Here (in Australia) we haven't done that. We've had a good program at the end of the Second World War. But it has tapered off. And we haven't invested as much in the rental side. There is more low-cost home ownership. It is a fantastic thing for a country to have: a proportion of social and affordable housing - because in the end, it reduces expenditure on other public services as well."
Opposition housing spokesman Michael Sukkar says he does not support the new fund, and he would like to see the money put in the National Housing Infrastructure Facility for public and community housing.
He says he believes the five-year timeline for the first 30,000 homes under the new fund is too long.
Independent MP Helen Haines says more help is needed for rural and regional Australia.
She has introduced a bill [[11 Sept]] to amend the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation Act - to ensure at least 30 per cent of funding goes to regional, rural and remote areas.
