In Lake Macquarie and across the Hunter, more and more people are working hard, doing everything right, and still can’t afford a secure place to call home.
Young people are outbidding each other for increasingly scarce rentals. Families who, a generation ago, would have bought a home are locked out of the market. And many are struggling to keep up with rising rents.
Housing has become a life-defining challenge. Not just in Sydney or Melbourne, but right here in our own communities.
Parents tell me they fear their children will never know the stability of home ownership. Renters are watching costs climb faster than their wages. And even those who have saved, sacrificed, and planned for years are being priced out.
This crisis didn’t appear overnight. It is the result of years of neglect.
During the nine years the Coalition was last in government, there was no dedicated housing minister for most of that time. Just 373 social and affordable homes were built across the entire country. The Commonwealth effectively walked away from leadership, leaving the heavy lifting to the states and hoping the market would fix itself.
But hope isn’t a strategy.
That’s why the Albanese Labor Government is stepping up in a way we haven’t seen since the post-war housing boom. We’re taking bold, practical action - not just talking about the problem, but delivering real results.
Since Labor came to office, we’ve seen a turnaround in home building. More than 500,000 homes have been built, new housing starts are up 17 per cent, and construction costs have stabilised.
More than 180,000 Australians have bought their first home with as little as a 5 per cent deposit.
More than one million households are now receiving higher levels of Commonwealth Rent Assistance - a boost of nearly 50 per cent. And we already have more than 25,000 social and affordable homes in the pipeline, with over 5,000 completed.
In my electorate of Shortland, which includes parts of Lake Macquarie and the Central Coast, these national policies are having a direct local impact. Since Labor came to government, 956 locals have been able to buy their first home through the Home Guarantee Scheme.
Delivering back-to-back increases to Commonwealth Rent Assistance has helped more than 10,600 households in Shortland. And 595 local apprentices have benefitted from $5,000 incentive payments to kickstart their careers in the trades. Next year, our new Key Apprenticeship Program will go even further, offering up to $10,000 for apprentices building the homes our communities so desperately need.
This is what real commitment looks like.
But we know the job isn’t finished. It is still too hard to buy, too hard to build, and too hard to rent with security and dignity in this country.
That’s why this term, we’re going further.
We’re delivering 55,000 new social and affordable homes nationwide, alongside 100,000 homes reserved for first home buyers. We’re backing a national target to build 1.2 million new homes in five years, supported by $1.5 billion in infrastructure investment to unlock housing supply. We’re encouraging modern construction methods such as prefabricated and modular homes, so we can build more homes faster and more efficiently.
For renters, we’ve delivered the biggest increase to Commonwealth Rent Assistance in three decades. And we’re working with the states to improve standards and strengthen tenants’ rights through our Better Deal for Renters agenda.
For aspiring homeowners, we’re rolling out Help to Buy - Australia’s first national shared equity scheme. And from today, all first home buyers can access the expanded Home Guarantee Scheme, allowing them to enter the market with just a 5 per cent deposit and no Lenders Mortgage Insurance. Eligible single parents will be able to buy with as little as a 2 per cent deposit, a life-changing opportunity for many families.
These changes won’t solve everything overnight. But they are already making a real and lasting difference in Lake Macquarie, Newcastle and across the Hunter.
They show what happens when a government treats housing not just as an economic issue, but as a human one. Not just as a political talking point, but as a national priority.
Because every Australian - no matter their income, background, or postcode, deserves the dignity, stability and security of a place to call home. And that is what the Albanese Labor Government will deliver.
See Newcastle Herald article here: