JOURNALIST:
Minister, do you concede that your housing plan looks almost certain to fail in the Senate this week?
JULIE COLLINS:
We continue to have discussions. We are investing over $8 billion this financial year in housing and homelessness services. We've clarified some of the elements in terms of our Housing Australia Future Fund. We're doing more than just the Housing Australia Future Fund, of course. We're investing $575 million immediately. We already have homes going on the ground today. We've got people moving in in weeks in my home state of Tasmania because of decisions that our government has taken in relation to getting more homes on the ground. We’ve got the National Housing Accord ‑ another $350 million from 1 July 2024. We've got $1.7 billion going just this one year from 1 July to states and territories to invest in social and affordable housing. We are moving at every opportunity. We saw more of it in the last budget with our build‑to‑rent changes, and indeed in our additional $2 billion in financing for the National Housing Finance Investment Corporation ‑
JOURNALIST:
This is a centerpiece government policy, your key policy to create 30,000 homes over five years, and it appears that unless the government compromises it will be defeated in the Senate this fortnight.
COLLINS:
Well, the time for delays in terms of this legislation are over. What we know is that more delays mean less homes on the ground. It will take more time to get homes on the ground. What we also know is all of the experts, whether they be from homelessness services, whether they be from social housing providers, whether they're from the Property Council or the Master Builders or the HIA, everybody supports the Housing Australia Future Fund. What we need is people in the Senate, particularly Liberal senators and Greens senators, to look at this. This is not the only thing we're doing, but it is critical to our agenda. And we took it to the last election. The Australian people voted for this $10 billion fund. And I would call on senators, the Greens senators and the Liberal senators to support the Housing Australia Future Fund.