Labor’s $32bn housing pledge built on shaky foundations
Less than $3bn of the Albanese government’s claimed $32bn housing plan has been disbursed for the direct construction of new homes, with no new dwellings understood to have yet been completed.
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Less than $3bn of the Albanese government’s claimed $32bn housing plan has been disbursed for the direct construction of new homes, with no new dwellings understood to have yet been completed after more than two years in office.
The Australian understands no disbursements have yet been made from the centrepiece $10bn Housing Australian Future Fund established for the construction of 40,000 new social and affordable houses.
Nor has the government been able to confirm whether any money has been provided under the $2bn on concessional loans available under the HAFF.
No data exists for how many homes state and territory governments may have commenced under the $2bn provided to those governments through the social housing accelerator.
Housing Minister Clare O’Neil’s claim that the Albanese government was presiding over a $32bn housing spend includes the almost $5bn in commonwealth rent assistance that is designed to alleviate rental price pressures rather than build new homes.
At least $6bn worth of spending under the programs has yet to be legislated, including the Help to Buy scheme, which is stalled in the Senate.
A $3bn new homes bonus doesn’t start until 2028 and while projects have been announced under the $2bn housing support program, it is understood no money has been provided as yet.
The government could not confirm whether $1bn under the Northern Territory housing scheme had yet been provided, or how much of the $1bn infrastructure facility had gone out the door.
The Australian put a series of questions to Ms O’Neil relating to the $32bn claim, namely how much had actually been spent and how many new homes had been completed.
It is estimated that around $8bn in funds have been provided, but the bulk of this relates to the commonwealth rent assistance scheme, with the remainder being payments to the states and the territories.
The opposition has seized on the claims by Ms O’Neil that Labor had claimed it was spending $32bn on housing, accusing the government of presiding over a “political fraud”.
“The Albanese government has dragged its heels for more than two years on addressing their housing crisis and misleading Australians with farcical ‘new’ funding announcements,” opposition housing spokesman Michael Sukkar told The Australian.
“Billions of promised dollars are tied to policies that have yet to even pass the parliament.
“The reality is, it’s no new money, no new ideas, no new homes, nothing for first-home buyers, no initiatives for renters – just the same Labor housing crisis.
“It’s now time for the Housing Minister to level with Australians and explain how many homes as of today that so-called $32bn has built under Labor.”
Anthony Albanese’s pledge of building 1.2 million homes by 2030 has been criticised by the sector, with new construction starts already at decade-low levels.
Mr Sukkar claims not a single new house has been completed under the Albanese government despite the pledge or through any of the facilities announced since the last election.
The government conceded that at least $5bn of the $32bn was in rental assistance, which was not a policy designed for the construction of new homes.
And the $6bn included in the overall number used by the Albanese government has yet to pass the parliament.
Ms O’Neil accused the Coalition of having presided over a lost period of action on housing and accused the Liberal Party of siding with the Greens to block the government’s housing agenda.
“The Albanese government invested more to build homes in our 2024 budget than the Coalition invested in their nine years in office,” Ms O’Neil told The Australian.
“We’ve delivered $2bn to states and territories to build 4000 more social houses, fast, and in addition we’ve invested $10bn into the Housing Australia Future Fund to establish a stable and consistent stream of funding for 40,000 new social and affordable homes,” Ms O’Neil said.
“We’ve delivered more than $150 million as part of our $1bn commitment to improve housing for Indigenous Australians living in remote areas.
“We have increased Commonwealth Rent Assistance by $4.6bn over the next five years, the largest increase in 30 years – because we know that renters need as much help as possible right now.
“We want to invest more in housing more quickly, but the Liberals and Greens are teaming up to stop us doing this.”
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