TUBES:
In the studio right now though, we have the Minister for Housing Julie Collins, and Member for Franklin. I better put your microphone on, Minister. That would probably help.
JULIE COLLINS:
Thanks, Tubes. It does! Also Minister for Small Business, and obviously a greatly proud Tasmanian.
TUBES:
Of course, you've got so much going on, Minister. Let's start with what's happening with housing. You've got a special announcement today.
COLLINS:
Yeah, we have cracked the 100,000 people that we've now helped into home ownership since we came to government through the Home Guarantee Scheme. This is a scheme that helps people out to overcome the hurdle of deposit. So, what it means is they can get into home ownership with as little as 5 per cent deposit and the government guarantees the other 15 per cent. So, we're saving them on the lenders mortgage insurance. So, this can be savings of tens of thousands of dollars. A lot of renters, for instance, that can service their rent could service a loan for a mortgage, but they can't get over that hurdle of deposit. So, this program helps. It's now one in three of first home buyers that are using this government scheme.
TUBES:
This is a practical way of people being able to get into a house. I know when my partner Erin and I were saving for a house, we were trying to avoid that loan mortgage insurance, and unfortunately for us at the time, that wasn't available to us. But this is a practical way that people can get involved. How do they get involved in homeownership through this scheme?
COLLINS:
The scheme’s run by Housing Australia, but most of the lenders across the country are on the lenders panel for Housing Australia. So, just through your normal finance organisation, whether that be a bank or a credit union or a building society, should be able to offer you the Home Guarantee Scheme. And it's over 1300 now here in Tasmania that have been helped in the scheme. And right here in Hobart, over 630 Tasmanians we've helped into home ownership. But we also want to do more, Tubes.
TUBES:
So, what do you want to do?
COLLINS:
So, we've got our Help to Buy scheme that we've introduced into parliament late last year, and that's about a shared equity scheme. So, that means the government actually is on your mortgage as a second mortgagee. So, up to 30 per cent for existing homes and up to 40 per cent for new homes. So, that means you only have to borrow the 60 or the 70 per cent for your home loan and you can, as your situation improves, buy back the government's share.
TUBES:
Why is it important for people to get into their own home, Julie Collins?
COLLINS:
Well, I think it's the great Australian dream and it provides security for people. I think everybody understands that a roof over somebody's head is more than just a roof. It's actually about being able to participate in the community. It's about employment, it's about school, it's about friends, family.
TUBES:
So, what are you doing though? Because there is still a housing shortage. What is the government doing to improve that situation?
COLLINS:
So we're doing a whole range of things right across from homelessness all the way through to homeownership. And we've talked about home ownership today. We've put additional money into homelessness services that we've provided the states and the territories with. We've also got our $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund through the parliament, and we're open to tender now for the first round of funding for that. We also have the National Housing Accord, which is more money for more affordable rentals. So not just social housing, but affordable housing as well. So, we've done that. We've got over $3 billion on the table to incentivise the states and the territories to build more houses, including in the private sector, and change their planning and their zoning. We have invested more in the Commonwealth rental assistance – provided people with more money, the highest increase in 30 years, and it's a 15 per cent increase in the Commonwealth Rent Assistance. So, we're trying to help everybody right along the spectrum. We've also provided since I came to office to the Tasmanian state government $122 million, including $50 million for the Social Housing Accelerator that will build an additional 110 homes in Tassie.
KAZ:
Do we know how many people we have to help in Tasmania? Is there a number? Is it something we can put a number on?
COLLINS:
Well, there are thousands, unfortunately. There are. And obviously we're working with the states and territories to try and address that, including the Tasmanian state government. And we're also working at the moment on trying to sign a new five year funding deal with the states for more housing and homelessness services, on top of the additional money that I've just spoken about. So, we've put in since we came to office last financial year $9.5 billion into housing and homelessness services.
KAZ:
They're numbers. They're big numbers, they're very big numbers. We want to hear bigger numbers.
COLLINS:
Bigger than the entire Tasmanian state budget.
TUBES:
I think the practical thing here is that in southern Tasmania, across Hobart and southeast Tasmania, you've put 650 people into homes, which is absolutely sensational. I know there's a lot of work to do with the Housing Australia Future Fund, but it is practical to see these things happening. If people want to get involved with this program, where do they go, Julie Collins?
COLLINS:
Just to their normal lending institution – their bank or their credit union or their building society – and they should be able to access the program from there. And it's run by Housing Australia.
TUBES:
That is the Help to Buy program, where you can get 2 per cent deposit for your help to buy plus purchase up to 70 per cent of that home with the‑
COLLINS:
Help to Buy is not available yet, but the Home Guarantee Scheme is.
TUBES:
When can we do that, Help to Buy?
COLLINS:
We need every state and territory to legislate to allow us to do Help to Buy. So, we're waiting on that.
TUBES:
Well, speaking of state legislature, how is the Tasmanian government going? What do you think about what's happening in politics locally here in Tasmania?
COLLINS:
I have to say I think most Tasmanians are pretty sick of it. I think most Tasmanians think the Premier should just call an election or he should stop talking about it, because I think they're over it. I think the polite term is he should put up or go quietly away. The election's not due to March next year. I think we're really over it. It's also not good for confidence. They promise stable majority government. That's not what they're delivering, and I think Tasmanians are really over it.
TUBES:
Well, Minister Julie Collins, we appreciate your time here on triple M. Breakfast with Kaz and Tubes.
COLLINS:
Thanks very much, Kaz and Tubes.