LAURA JAYES:
Joining me live now is the housing Minister, Julie Collins. Julie, at this point, are you still going to meet that target?
JULIE COLLINS:
Look, we’re doing everything we can do, Laura. We’re working right across government, working with other tiers of government, working with the sector and with the industry to make sure that we’re doing everything we can do. It’s an ambitious target, but we need to be ambitious. We need to build more homes for Australians. And today was about more tradies to build more homes.
JAYES:
How many have you built to date?
COLLINS:
We’ve built over 5,000 homes to date. We’ve obviously now just had the first tender round of our Housing Australia Future Fund. We’re talking about, though, 1.2 million homes from 1 July. This national target that we have, and we’re working with other tiers of government, as I’ve said, with state and local governments, with industry and with the sector to build these homes right across Australia. We know we need more homes and it’s an ambitious target, but we need to be ambitious.
JAYES:
Are you looking at modular homes?
COLLINS:
We’re looking at all sorts of homes. Certainly the Industry Minister is looking at alternative methods of construction. Modular homes are already being built today, certainly in Queensland and Western Australia, I’ve seen some of those modular homes being built. They’re particularly useful in regional Australia and getting homes on the ground there. So, we’re looking at everything we need to do. So, we’re looking at skills, we’re looking at alternative methods of construction. We’ve obviously got the states and territories doing planning and zoning reforms. We’re working right across governments at all tiers to do what we can do to deliver more homes for Australia as quickly as we can.
JAYES:
I mean, you need the states on board and they are on the target. But none of the premiers seem to be at all optimistic that they’re going to reach their targets. But you seem to be.
COLLINS:
Well, what I can say to you, Laura, is that unless we have an ambitious target, unless we have every tier of government with their shoulder to the wheel, unless we have the sector with their shoulder to wheel and have all of us heading in the same direction, we won’t, but for the first time in a long time, we’ve got all of those things and we’ve got everybody heading in the same direction, and that is important. But also importantly, we’ve now committed more than $25 billion in new investments since we’ve come to office over the next decade to support what the states and territories are doing and the additional investments that states and territories are making. We all need to lift, we all need to work together. It is an ambitious target, but we need to be ambitious and it starts from the 1 July for 5 years. Over that 5 years, we will be working as hard as we can to build as many homes as quickly as we can.
JAYES:
How big is the rental assistance increase going to be?
COLLINS:
Look, Laura, what you saw from us in the last budget was, of course, an increase in the Commonwealth Rent Assistance. What we’re looking for in this Budget, obviously, is to provide cost‑of‑living support. That starts, of course, with the tax cuts for every working Australian. More than 13 million Australians will be getting relief, cost‑of‑living relief through tax cuts in the Budget. As we’ve clearly said, we’re looking right across government. We’re looking at skills, we’re looking at industry, we’re looking right across government in terms of what else do we need to do to meet our ambition to build more homes for Australians that need them.
JAYES:
So, should we expect a significant increase in the rental assistance?
COLLINS:
Look, Laura, we’ve made an announcement today about skills. We’re not making any more today about housing, but what I can say to you is we’re working right across government, we want to build as many homes as quickly as we can. What we are doing is we are building as many homes as quickly as we can. What we know will put downward pressure on rents is more supply. We need more homes, homes of every type, more homes for Australians that need them, more homes for renters, more homes for people to buy.
JAYES:
Yep. 5,000 out of 1.2 million. There is a long way to go. Before I let you go, Julie Collins, can I ask you about an upcoming documentary that we’ve got here that Josh Frydenberg is hosting and he’s spoken to Dennis Richardson, who says the chant ‘river to the sea’ is particularly violent and has no place. Do you agree?
COLLINS:
Look, what we need is a cohesive society. We need everybody, we don’t need any antisemitism, we don’t need any Islamophobia. What we need is Australians working together in the best interests of our nation. And that’s what I want to see Laura.
JAYES:
What about that chant in particular, though?
COLLINS:
Look, I’m not going to make any comment on that. What we need to do is we need to be bringing people together. We need to all be tolerant of each other’s views and be working together as a community. What we need at Australia in this time is social cohesion.
JAYES:
Anthony Albanese said that chant alone beside it being violent, is, you know, opposed to a two‑state solution. Would you at least agree with that?
COLLINS:
Of course. But, I mean, we know that we need a two‑state solution in terms of long lasting peace. But, you know, what we need here in Australia is people being careful about other people’s views and some social cohesion in this country. And I would say to leaders that that is what we should be advocating for. We don’t need any more division and we don’t need any more people playing politics and trying to create division.
JAYES:
Leaders aside, what do you think about the people that do use that chant? Should it stop?
COLLINS:
Well, I wouldn’t use it and clearly I’m making every effort not to do that today and I certainly wouldn’t do that.
JAYES:
Julie Collins, thanks for your time.
COLLINS:
Thanks very much, Laura.