Wednesday, 5 March 2025

Bills

Help to Buy (Commonwealth Powers) Bill 2025

Second reading

Debate resumed.

Nina TAYLOR (Albert Park) (15:10): I am happy to continue on this important bill referring a very specific power to the Commonwealth. I know those opposite have done everything possible to avoid any kind of progress on this bill on their part, because clearly providing this kind of structural reform is just not their cup of tea. It is much easier just to oppose, oppose, oppose and then just hope for some kind of miracle. We are not waiting around for any miracles, we are actually taking action, and we have seen what the action of this Help to Buy scheme has already done for so many wonderful Victorians. It has already supported over 13,500 Victorians to become home owners, with another ‍2300 approved to purchase under the scheme. It was also raised, ‘You can’t just use this lever in order to drive people getting into homes in this state.’ Well, fancy that. We are not just relying on one lever. Of course this is a lever for actually buying a home, but we are building homes as well. As I was saying, shared equity schemes are only one side of the housing affordability coin. We also need to build more homes to increase supply.

Let us just look at the numbers here. That is why we have embarked on the Big Housing Build – which those opposite have also opposed – which, when completed, will deliver a 10 per cent uplift in the total number of social housing stock in Victoria, delivering 12,000 social housing homes. Since the announcement of the Big Build in November 2020 – let us take stock of this – more than 10,100 homes have been completed or are underway and more than 5500 households have either moved or are getting ready to move into brand new homes. From the start of the big build to 30 June 2024 the net number of social houses in Victoria increased by more than 4390, and in that time we have added over 9100 new dwellings, through a combination of construction and acquisition in the Big Housing Build as well as other programs. That is not to mention that there is the broader investment in regional Victoria as well.

I should also say that even in my seat, at Barak Beacon they are well progressing the build on that to get ready to build 408 new homes for my area, which was greatly opposed by the Greens political party, and I think member for Southern Metropolitan David Davis came out and did his bit to try and stop the progression of the build. Of course that is what they do, because it is much easier just to block than to actually do the hard work and put in the structural reforms.

You can see here that we are making a really positive collaboration with the federal government, which will ultimately continue to benefit future Victorians who wish to invest in a home – to get that first critical bite into the market that they very much deserve. I wholeheartedly support this bill. We are not sitting on our hands waiting around for an election; we are getting on and we are getting it done, because this is what we do. We are Labor.

Gabrielle DE VIETRI (Richmond) (15:14): I rise to speak on the Help to Buy (Commonwealth Powers) Bill 2025. The bill will adopt the primary and residual versions of the Commonwealth Help to Buy Act 2024 and refer the necessary legislative powers of the Victorian Parliament to the Commonwealth Parliament to enable the Commonwealth’s Help to Buy scheme to operate in Victoria. Help to Buy is a shared equity scheme where the Commonwealth provides assistance to people purchasing a home. It is administered by Housing Australia. The bill provides an amendment reference to the Commonwealth Parliament to enable future changes to Help to Buy so that it can evolve over time.

Help to Buy sounds nice. I mean, who would not want a helping hand? But in reality it is just more tinkering around the edges. This is a deeply unambitious policy introduced at a critical moment in time when homelessness and rental and mortgage stress is skyrocketing. Demand-side interventions are often the preferred approach taken by governments because they are nominally cheaper than supply-side interventions like building more public housing. Plus, they allow governments to appear as though they are responding while not actually addressing the structural causes of deepening housing inequity. This scheme will not touch the sides of the crisis, but it will offer some assistance to a very small and very specific cohort. In the best-case scenario this scheme would help about 0.2 per cent of renters, leaving the other 99.8 per cent behind to face a brutal housing system. It has been framed as an answer to housing affordability, but Help to Buy does not change our perverted housing system; it just helps a select few go from one hamster wheel to another, likely drowning in mortgage stress. If the Victorian government wants to help the federal government on housing, they should ask them to address the structural issues by scrapping negative gearing and scrapping capital gains tax discounts. Help to Buy is funded by consolidated revenue and yet the federal government has flat-out refused to use consolidated revenue for far more necessary and urgent investments, such as in public housing.

The Greens will support this bill, but let us be absolutely clear: this scheme is not the solution to the housing crisis, it is a distraction. Labor needs to face up to the fact that until they scrap negative gearing and scrap capital gains tax, and until they build more public housing and regulate the private market with rent controls, this housing crisis will only get worse.

Eden FOSTER (Mulgrave) (15:17): It is a good thing I was alert to come back, as that was a lot shorter than what was anticipated. Clearly there is not a lot to say from those in the Greens.

I am pleased to rise today in support of the Help to Buy (Commonwealth Powers) Bill 2025. I thank the Minister for Economic Growth and Jobs and Minister for Finance for introducing the bill, and I thank the Treasurer for her hard work and contributions to this bill as well. For years, young Australians have been living with the uncomfortable reality that home ownership is a distant aspiration or, for many, out of reach entirely. The state of housing in Australia contributes to contemporary projections that millennials and Gen Zs will be the first generations in memory to have a worse standard of living than that which that their parents inherited. This unfortunate truth is felt across our great state, including in my electorate of Mulgrave. Even though the percentage of renters is lower than the state average, more than one in four of my constituents are renters. Of those, a majority state their aspiration to one day own a house of their own, but they have historically faced the obstacles of a highly competitive market and a lack of supply relative to demand. For low- and middle-income earners these factors present enormous challenges to realising the Australian dream of financial security, self-sufficiency and a home to call their own. In light of this, the calls for successive governments to do something about the issue have increasingly grown, particularly over the last decade.

Talk to any young person about housing in our cities and you will hear a mix of anxiety, resignation and frustration with the current state of affairs. That is the result of a decade of neglect from the three Liberal–National administrations at the federal level, all of which refused point-blank to step up and work with state and territory governments to address this decline. Victoria was ignored for that wasted decade. We consistently received less than our fair share of the funding pie considering our wealth, growth and population share. For too long we were an afterthought or a thorn in the side of federal governments who thought they knew better, but things have changed. The Albanese Labor government has done in two years what their predecessors could not do in 10. Housing in Australia is finally on the move again.

The Help to Buy scheme is a sophisticated solution to a vexed issue. It will provide thousands of Australians with a crucial leg up into the housing market, something which many have sorely needed for a long time now. The point of the scheme is not that governments will bankroll housing entirely nor undermine the housing market for a particular demographic’s benefit. All Help to Buy seeks to do is pave the way for more people to have a secure roof over their heads, to make it just a little bit easier for Australians to be a lot more comfortable.

With this bill we are doing our part, adopting this initiative into Victorian law and bringing our housing support programs in line with the rest of the country. Implementing the Help to Buy scheme works to make housing more affordable but does not necessarily solve housing supply – although it will help stimulate supply of new housing through offering larger equity contributions for new homes. This is what the body of our work here with the Allan Labor government is already doing, which is very vital. Through this Big Housing Build, commenced in 2020, more than 10,100 homes have been completed or are at least underway, and more than 5500 households have either moved in or are getting ready to move in to brand new homes.

But we are only just getting started. I was pleased last week to join the Premier and the Minister for Planning in announcing a new round of 25 train and tram zone activity centres, in addition to the existing 25. The new activity centres include Springvale and Noble Park within my electorate, because people want to live in the Mulgrave electorate, where there is great transport, a vibrant community and of course the best food in Victoria.

Whilst targeting housing affordability, the implementation of the Help to Buy scheme will play an important part in making housing more accessible to more Victorians, creating more homes and more opportunity. The scheme is worthy in its purpose and function. The government is stepping in to help eligible lower and middle income earners to purchase a property with a smaller deposit. Specifically, this sees those eligible take out a loan with an equity contribution from the federal government – and the contributions are hardly small change either. For a 2 per cent deposit and a proportionate interest in the home, the government will grant up to 30 per cent for the price of an existing home and as much as 40 per cent for a new property. Ultimately the scheme could save Aussies up to $380,000 on their mortgage payments, which is great news. That represents money that, rather than being spent on property, can instead be spent on groceries, school supplies and local businesses and be put away for a rainy day.

Altogether this scheme serves to give Victorian families peace of mind and a better quality of life. That is because their Labor governments have backed them in their aspiration to have a home that they can call their own. As the minister alluded to in his second-reading speech, the benefits for Victorians are broad, varied and deeply effective. For example, Victorians will benefit from a smaller deposit and lower mortgage repayments and, crucially for many, avoid the cost of lenders mortgage insurance. Those across the aisle would rather see entire generations struggle to escape the rental tenancy market than have governments do what they are meant to and aid those who are struggling to realise their dreams independently.

To establish which Victorians need Help to Buy, reasonable standards have been set to ensure only those who need the scheme can access it. This protects taxpayers money from being wasted, an activity that affirms public confidence in this scheme. For example, if someone is looking to buy a property on their own, they must have a yearly income of less than $90,000. And if they are buying with someone else, whether it be a partner, a guardian or whoever it may be, their combined income must be less than $120,000 per year. Crucially, applicants must not currently own any other land or property in Australia or overseas. This is strictly aimed at helping first home buyers, backing our young people and new families where previous schemes have failed to do so. Further, you have to live in the house that you are buying with the scheme’s assistance – no investment properties or secondary residences, just secure homes for hardworking Victorians like many in my electorate of Mulgrave.

All in all, the public can be assured that checks and balances are in place to ensure that only those who need the scheme can access it and that anyone attempting to defraud the scheme will be prevented from doing so. To put it another way, Aussies can be confident that every grant that the government gives under this scheme will pass the pub test with flying colours.

I want to use the remainder of my time to reflect on how my electorate of Mulgrave stands to benefit from this scheme being brought to Victoria. Our average income is lower than the state average – $693 per week as compared to $803. We have a high proportion of non-English-speaking households, at 58.6 per cent compared to 30.2 per cent. We also have a higher median rent, at $380 per week. I guess we can do the maths there. These facts, when considered together, tell a story. My constituents are more likely than the average Victorian to be eligible for this scheme and benefit from it, and from conversations I have had with business leaders, community leaders, young people, older people, new parents and established locals, housing remains a top priority for my community. My constituents recognise that housing is not growing on trees and as such is not something which will be easy to earn, but what they do want is help where they can get it, and it is the duty of government to make it that little bit easier.

In summary, the Help to Buy scheme is an intelligent proposal to make it just a little bit easier for Australians and Victorians to find a house that they can call home. With this scheme home ownership will get that little bit easier, and for some that can be everything. I commend this bill to the house.

Jess WILSON (Kew) (15:27): I rise to speak on the Help to Buy (Commonwealth Powers) Bill 2025. This piece of legislation aims to adopt specific provisions of the Commonwealth’s Help to Buy (Commonwealth Powers) Act 2024 and facilitate the referral of legislative powers from the state to the Commonwealth for potential amendments. It has two primary objectives in terms of the Commonwealth Help to Buy bill, the first of which is the adoption of the Commonwealth provisions and the referral of that legislative power. The policy itself aims to provide 40,000 homes to scheme participants over four years nationally, with the aim of Victoria representing about 10,000 over that four-year share, which has been calculated on a per capita basis. Essentially this Commonwealth scheme aims to replace the Victorian Homebuyer Fund, which was established by the Andrews Labor government in 2021.

It feels like nearly on a weekly basis now we are debating legislation in this place in relation to housing in particular. We hear nearly on a daily basis from the Allan Labor government that they are focused on solving Victoria’s housing crisis, but nothing could be further from the truth. Despite the fact that we seem to deal with pieces of legislation here about housing and about the need to provide more homes and more rental properties and make it easier for homebuyers and renters in this state, nothing this government has said or done has made one ounce of difference to a Victorian in terms of the housing crisis here in Victoria. We have seen over the course of the past 10 years of this Labor government the housing crisis getting worse year on year. They have stood by and watched this become a crisis in this state – a crisis that comes down to a lack of supply and Victorians now unable to find a place to call home, whether that is in terms of buying their own home or whether it is even finding a rental property in Victoria.

This bill before us today aims to confer powers from the Commonwealth to the state and put in place a Commonwealth scheme instead of the state scheme that was put in place a number of years ago, as I said. I am sure the new Treasurer is delighted that the federal government is picking up the tab here in Victoria, given the fact that this state has record debt and that record debt is soaring towards $188 billion in the coming years.

It is completely understandable that the new Treasurer would be thrilled that the Commonwealth Treasurer is suggesting that he will pick up the tab.

It is also ironic to see this bill before us today, given it confers powers from state Labor to federal Labor and given what we have seen over recent weeks are very public disagreements between the Premier and the Prime Minister. I am sure many of us in this place read just a couple of days ago, and I quote:

Anthony Albanese is expected to distance himself from Jacinta Allan and her embattled … Labor government …

here in Victoria throughout the federal election campaign. The article goes on to state that while Labor plans for the Prime Minister to bask in the glow of very popular Labor premiers in South Australia and Western Australia, the federal party concedes that:

… it has no option but to adopt a minimalist strategy when it comes to the Victorian Premier.

Perhaps this bill before us today is designed to aid in the implementation of the Albanese government’s deeply flawed Help to Buy scheme as an attempt by the state government here to try and claw back some favour from their federal colleagues. We know that this government is going cap in hand to the Prime Minister to get funding for their Suburban Rail Loop project, and we know that the Prime Minister has been unwilling to make sure that the federal taxpayer is contributing to that project.

Despite the fact that we are on the cusp of a federal election being called and that we are expecting the Prime Minister to go to the Governor-General’s residence any day now to call the election, it is very clear that the outcome of this election is very unknown. Of course we on this side of the house are very much looking forward to a coalition win at the federal election. If that does occur, then the Commonwealth Help to Buy scheme will not be proceeding. So we are now debating legislation that is dependent on the outcome of the federal election. It is incredibly premature to be putting this legislation in place, given the fact that we do not know what the outcome of that election will be. Why not wait a few weeks – we are only a few weeks away from election day – to see what the outcome is? If Australians decide to go ahead and risk another three years of a Labor government – God forbid, a Labor minority government – in this country, then put the legislation in place at that time. Because if we do not have a Labor victory at the federal election, the Help to Buy scheme will not be proceeding. For that reason I support the member for Brighton’s reasoned amendment:

That all the words after ‘That’ be omitted and replaced with the words ‘, noting the contrasting position of the two major federal political parties on this policy, this house refuses to read this bill a second time until the outcome of the federal election is determined.’

Regardless of the timing of this piece of legislation, the federal government’s Help to Buy scheme has drawn criticism from many quarters, both left and right. Its narrow targeting means it does very little to ease the housing and affordability crisis faced by so many Australians, particularly here in Victoria. Its price caps mean that most houses in most capital cities are precluded from being eligible. If we look to the difference in what the Help to Buy scheme offers compared to what the current Victorian government scheme offers, the federal parliamentary library found that, based on median full-time earnings, a paramedic, a registered nurse or a primary school teacher would not qualify under the Help to Buy singles threshold.

We have seen extremely low take-up, based on the state-based shared equity schemes, which have shown that Australians and Victorians are actually just not that interested in sharing their house with the government. This is a very important point: most Victorians, most Australians, do not want to have the Australian government or the Victorian government on their house title. They do not want to have to share their house with the government. What this government fails to do is to actually deliver affordable housing options for Victorians to make sure that first-time, aspirational home owners are able to get into the housing market in this state.

But as I said from the outset, all we hear from this government is announcement after announcement. We had of course at the end of the former Premier’s time as the Premier of this state the big housing statement announced. In that statement we saw a commitment to deliver 80,000 new homes each and every year under the Labor government. Now that has had to be crab walked back, because at its very peak Victoria has only been able to deliver around 50,000 homes. Yet this government committed to 80,000 homes each and every year, an 800,000 target over the decade, but no longer. That figure has been taken out of all of the material on the housing statement going forward. No longer 80,000 homes – we will just walk that back.

Is it any wonder that we can no longer deliver those homes when the only thing that this government has delivered in terms of housing in this state is higher property taxes? How on earth this government expects to build the apartments that they are talking about right across Victoria in their activity centres, in these high-rise buildings, when if you talk to any property developer in this state, they simply cannot afford to do business here. We know this government cannot afford to build them. We know this government cannot afford to build the much-needed public, social and affordable housing and they are trying to shift that onto the private sector. But as they try to shift that onto the private sector, they are also putting in place new property taxes, increasing land tax and introducing windfall gains tax. How on earth does this government expect the private sector to deliver affordable housing for Victorians if they are taxing them out of the very market? This is the problem with this government: the only answer they have to every single problem that they have created in this state is to introduce a new tax and punish Victorians instead of delivering what Victorians need.

Paul MERCURIO (Hastings) (15:37): I rise to give my contribution on the Help to Buy (Commonwealth Powers) Bill 2025. I might just address something the member for Kew said in regard to the Prime Minister and our Premier not getting on, or not working very well together, and the Prime Minister wanting to distance himself from the Victorian Labor Party. I was just looking at a press release and it states that the Albanese Labor government is building Victoria’s future, today announcing an investment of more than $3.3 billion in Victoria.

Mathew Hilakari: Did you say billion?

Paul MERCURIO: Billion. But wait, there is more – new road and rail projects to boost economic growth, improve connectivity and tackle congestion on suburban roads. They will also partner with the Victorian government to fund and build the rail link to Melbourne Airport, providing more transport options for more people.

A member: How is SRL going?

Paul MERCURIO: We are building the Suburban Rail Loop, which is fantastic also. They will also invest an additional $2 billion – another $2 billion – toward transforming Sunshine station as part of our commitment to build the Melbourne Airport rail. On top of that, there is an existing $5 billion to build the rail line to Tullamarine, taking the overall Commonwealth commitment to $7 billion. Do I have to go on?

Sarah Connolly: Please do.

Paul MERCURIO: Well, I could, but I was going to stop there, actually. The fact is that the federal government is working with the Victorian government and the relationship between Albo and our Premier is healthy and robust, as it should be and must be. But we are getting things done; we are the government that gets things done.

It has been a very wideranging debate, and it is a pretty narrow sort of concept, this bill. I am a bit sad about the reasoned amendment happening, but I do note that the member for Brighton said if the reasoned amendment did not get up they would not vote against this bill, so that is good. It seems to me that the argument from the other side – the only argument that has made sense so far, and there is only one argument – is there is a federal election coming up and we should just wait and see what happens, sit on our hands, do nothing and just wait. I do not know what is going to happen at adjournment tonight, but I have turned up to work. I do not know what is going to happen tomorrow, but I am going to turn up to work. I am not going to sit in my hotel room or at home thinking I am not really sure what is going to go on so I am not going to put the effort in and just see what happens.

Tomorrow will arrive and nothing will have happened because those on that side have not done anything. That is a bit cowardly. It is a bit pointless. We have been tasked by our constituents to do stuff, not to sit around and not do stuff, so I think we should just get on and do the work and get stuff done.

This legislation comes at a very important time, as we are in the grip of a housing crisis. I might just say it is not just Victoria that is in a housing crisis, it is all the other states as well. In fact it is worldwide. So it is fantastic to see this federal government enter this space and provide real support for Australians to own their own home. I think that is incredibly exciting. I think of a lot of the youth and young people in my electorate who would be so excited. They really did not see a future, did not see themselves being able to buy a home or own a home, and this bill will change that. What this bill will do is adopt the Commonwealth Help to Buy Act 2004 and enable them to establish and operate their shared equity scheme in Victoria. It will also make amendments to the Duties Act 2000, the First Home Owner Grant and Home Buyer Schemes Act 2000 and the Land Tax Act 2005, and I may get to talk about them a little bit later on.

I would just like to point out that in October 2021 we introduced the Victorian Homebuyer Fund, which has helped over 13,500 Victorians to become home owners so far, with that number expected to rise to 18,000 or more. That is 18,000 more home owners, 18,000 more people with the security of a roof over their head and a place to call their own. Announced last year, the VHF will close on 30 June 2025, with the Commonwealth’s Help to Buy scheme planned to launch in mid-2025. I do not know why people are not excited about this. I think back to when I was just a young lad with a full head of hair.

Wayne Farnham: A couple of years ago.

Paul MERCURIO: Yes, Wayne. You remember that, don’t you? I am sorry, through the Chair – my apologies. Back then, as a young ballet dancer I had no hope whatsoever of being able to buy my own home. I had no hope of having that security. In fact when I started having kids – my first child – I was still renting and my wife had to stop work because she was a ballet dancer also and you cannot really dance when you are pregnant, especially nine months pregnant. So, you know, it was pretty tough, and the idea of being able to have that security and that sense of future and wellbeing was a long way away. I guess I was lucky that that film came along –

Paul Edbrooke: What film?

Paul MERCURIO: I have never mentioned it in here, and I never will. I just want to actually clarify what luck is. Luck means working incredibly hard so that when you are in the right place at the right time you can grab that opportunity with both hands and make the most of it. That is what luck is. I worked very hard when I was a young dancer. When an opportunity came along I was lucky enough to have done the work, and I took that opportunity. I just want to clarify that that film did not make me any money. I did not get any points. I got paid 35 grand for doing it, and that was it. But what I was lucky about was the opportunity it gave me later on, which was that I did do more work in the film industry and I could buy a house. What an amazing feeling that was. My second daughter was born in a rental, but my third daughter – well, they were born in hospital – was born when we owned our own house. That gave me a massive sense of security.

Mathew Hilakari: Did your house have a ballroom?

Paul MERCURIO: No, there is no ballroom in my house, but there is a long hallway to slide up. I digress. I look at my kids now – my favourite oldest daughter and my favourite younger daughter have had assistance through partners to be able to get into home ownership, but my favourite middle daughter has no assistance. She lives alone and she struggles with health issues, which I have talked about in this place, and that costs a lot of money. She spends her money looking after her health and wellbeing so she can have a quality of life that many people have easily and she does not. I look at her and I think I would love her to have the opportunity to own her own home, and so would she. She would absolutely love to have the security of a home where she owns it and she can decorate it. She loves decorating – she loves cupboards and storage units and all that sort of stuff. You cannot do that in a rental.

She wants a future. Owning your own home gives you that sense of identity, security and future, and with that comes a sense of health and wellbeing. That is what this bill is about; it is not about sitting on our hands and maybe making a decision later on. This bill is making a decision so that my favourite middle daughter and anyone else’s favourite eldest, youngest or middle will have the opportunity and get the assistance to own a home. I think that is so important, and I am so grateful that the Commonwealth government is contributing and to supporting Help to Buy.

I have kind of got to the end of this now, because I have said most of what I wanted to say. In the minute and a half I have got left I just want to say thank you to the minister and the staff and everybody else. I have got to tell you, too, my favourite middle daughter has had some issues and she would deeply love to get away from real estate agents. I should not probably say that too much, but we might have to do some work in that area coming up once this bill comes into effect.

In short, I think you know where I stand. I am a little bit tired of the cup half empty and the cup half full. Let us work together. Let us create this environment that we want. Let us do better for first home buyers, for kids, for our families. It is really important that we step up. I am a bit sad. I know we have got a few debates coming; it would be fantastic to actually hear something a little bit different from the other side other than ‘Let’s just wait for the federal election because you might not get in.’ The pressure is on. I look forward to seeing that happen. I commend the bill to the house.

Jade BENHAM (Mildura) (15:46): I will refer to the member for Hastings’ contribution just then on a couple of points. Something different from the following debates is almost guaranteed. And the fact that the member for Hastings claims he did not make any money out of that movie is outrageous. It is an absolutely outrageous claim. It is an absolute classic. I will state this on permanent record for Hansard: that movie made me and my family in Swan Hill take up ballroom dancing as a family. And we can still twinkle toe our way around a dance floor now, so thank you.

On another thing, the member for Hastings was talking about home ownership and how aspirational it is. I do not disagree. But when the government is on the title – obviously on this side of the house we do not agree that the government should be on the title to your property. Until last year – and maybe this is just an illustration of being a woman in the 21st century, I do not know – my husband was not even on the title to an investment property that I have, which is on the long-term rental list. It has been providing a home for a teacher to live in – in fact it is my stepdaughter’s year 10 teacher. I will pause there and say happy birthday to Scarlett; it is her 16th birthday today. It has been providing a house to a teacher who moved to the district to teach. Having the government on the title of your own home is not my definition of owning your own home.

But let us talk about some of the other facets of this bill. While it aims to address housing affordability with this shared equity scheme – which does make me a little nervous – I was doing a little bit of research on this bill, and I thought I would ask AI some questions. Now, I do not normally ever use AI, because I have seen the Terminator movies and it makes me very nervous. However, I thought I would put into the machine ‘the cause of the housing crisis’. It pulled up several articles referring to that. It pulled up Labor’s track record on housing:

[QUOTE AWAITING VERIFICATION]

While the Help to Buy scheme presents itself as a solution, it is essential to reflect on the historical approach to housing from the Labor government: the demolition of public housing –

which we hear about often and have earlier today –

and excessive taxation.

This is something that again, as the member for Kew stated, I feel like we talk about every single day in this place. Every single week I seem to be on my feet explaining to those on the other side that you cannot tax your way out of debt and you certainly cannot expect to add taxes on top of taxes on top of taxes to the point where, when you purchase a new home in Victoria now, 40 per cent of the cost of a property is tax. That in no way is going to contribute to solving a housing crisis, not for those who want to own their own homes and certainly not to incentivise landlords and investors to buy homes to put on the long-term rental market. It simply will not happen.

Of course the other thing it spat out was ‘economic mismanagement’ and the policy settings that have led to this housing crisis. I have been listening to this debate throughout the day and contributions from members that have spoken on this bill. The member for Mordialloc said something that I jotted down. He said, ‘Those on the other side are all knockers and blockers of affordable housing.’ I just want to point something out. Actually the Minister for Health reminded me of this yesterday. When the current Minister for Health was Minister for Regional Development, that was during my time on council. We came up with what was back then an audacious plan for council to start building houses, which came about from a conversation between me and the current CEO sitting at a conference in Canberra. We just said, ‘You know what, the market has failed in the town of Robinvale,’ – a town of 3000 people, so the census would have you believe – ‘We should just start building houses.’ It was that principle of saying yes first and then figuring out how to do it. Regional Development Victoria gave us the seed funding to start building houses on a plot of land that you would not have ever thought you could build townhouses on. It was an old road reserve that we managed to get titles to. Again, in those days it was an audacious plan. It was not actually that long ago.

Eight houses might not sound like a lot, but in a town like Robinvale, which is an hour and a half from Swan Hill and an hour from Mildura, with no operating tradies – there are plumbers, but because of the huge farming district, trying to get tradies is near impossible – we finally have those eight three-bedroom homes now not only built but purchased via a private treaty with council. Council have actually come in – they are not on the title, though; they have not assisted – built these homes and then put them on the market, not through auction but through private treaty. The Minister for Regional Development at the time, the now Minister for Health, reminded me yesterday of how a little bit of thinking outside of the box can actually help contribute. She came to turn the sod with me and mayor Bill Moar on that day. It is not that I forgot about it. I did forget to mention it. She did remind me of that yesterday. I guess it is an example of how thinking outside of the box we live in can sometimes offer a solution. Living in those homes now we have a pharmacist who has moved to the district. We have a doctor, a GP, who has bought one of those homes. We have had a family return to the district and buy a business. It has been very, very successful.

I talk about the housing crisis, what causes it and the bleedingly obvious solutions to incentivise housing growth in this state for the private sector. Let us be honest, the government is never going to build – it has been proven – 80,000 homes a year. It is a ridiculous number. It is a ridiculous notion that has already been pegged back. We know that. But the solution would be to incentivise the private sector to build homes and to put them on the long-term rental market instead of the short-stay market.

Let us face it, investors are putting their homes on the short-stay market because of how hard it has become to have homes on the long-term rental market.

I feel like in this place we are constantly talking about this and still we have a bill before us today that, as every member on this side has pointed out, when the Liberals and Nationals win the federal election will no longer go ahead. We could have been debating things like getting bail reform, getting machetes onto the prohibited weapons list – things that are much more important to Victorians now – rather than a scheme that may not exist come the end of this financial year, much less by the end of April, let us say.

The member for Brighton has put up a reasoned amendment with all of that in mind, but again, we will not be opposing the bill. It would be nice to think that we could get some support on the reasoned amendment, but that would be a waste of having sat here and debated this all day when it may not even come to fruition in the end. But again, I am more than happy to get up and talk about the housing crisis, the blatantly obvious reasons for the housing crisis and some commonsense solutions to help solve it, because we do do that every single day in this place.

Kathleen MATTHEWS-WARD (Broadmeadows) (15:56): I rise to support the Help to Buy (Commonwealth Powers) Bill 2025. The existing Victorian Homebuyer Fund has been a nation-leading, innovative and highly successful program to help Victorians access their first home. It has literally changed lives. It has already supported over 13,500 Victorians to become home owners, with over 2300 approved to purchase under the scheme. This includes many Victorians who have found it particularly tough to get into the housing market. In the existing program half the participants are women and more than half are single people, and we know that for single people saving up for a deposit is particularly tricky. It is hard enough to rent on your own, it is hard enough to pay all the utilities on your own, but to save money for a deposit on your own is really hard too.

The Victorian Homebuyer Fund has seen the Allan Labor government invest a total of $2.8 billion by reducing the initial outlay for Victorians looking to purchase a home. It has always been spoken of as the great Australian dream to own your own home, and I am so proud of the work Labor is doing to help Australians every day achieve their dreams that may have otherwise been out of reach. After hearing a constituent’s own personal experience with the Victorian Homebuyer Fund, it made me more eager to support this bill. To quote my constituent:

[QUOTE AWAITING VERIFICATION]

As a single person in my mid-30s, I had a solid job and good earnings, but I still found it incredibly difficult to afford a home. Despite having a deposit, the rising costs of housing coupled with mortgage insurance costs made it seem nearly impossible to buy a house. That’s when I turned to the Victorian Homebuyer Fund, and it made all the difference. The program not only made it easier for me to buy a house, but also helped me to get into a property closer to what I wanted and could afford.

And I am glad to say that he chose Glenroy as his home.

The application process was super easy to navigate through my bank, and I am not alone. This program has been a game changer for so many people. It is helping individuals and families who did not think they could ever own a property, providing them with an opportunity to finally enter the market. The Victorian Homebuyer Fund is truly making home ownership more accessible for those who need it the most.

That is from somebody who literally could not ever have owned his own home, and that is what he wanted to do. I also know a young couple in the hills who would never have been able to buy a home in the next 10 years without the assistance of the Victorian Homebuyer Fund. It has been so successful, and the federal government love the idea so much that they have come up with their own scheme – Help to Buy. Staggered allocations will ensure the Victorian Homebuyer Fund continues to support Victorian home ownership until Help to Buy is established. This means that no-one will miss out. The Victorian Homebuyer Fund will close to new applicants on 30 June this year, when the state will transition to Help to Buy. The State Revenue Office will continue to administer existing Victorian Homebuyer Fund applications. By adopting the Commonwealth’s Help to Buy Act 2024, this bill will enable Victorians to participate in the Commonwealth’s new shared equity scheme. Help to Buy will replace the Victorian Homebuyer Fund –

The SPEAKER: The time has come for me to interrupt business for the matter of public importance.

Business interrupted under sessional orders.