Government initiatives up against ‘8 years of no leadership’: Minister for Housing

Minister for Housing and Homelessness Julie Collins has promised that the government is working as fast as it can to put its election pledges in motion.

Speaking in a television interview on Wednesday, 17 August, Ms Collins pointed to what she characterised as a lack of action from the former government as one of the reasons that the current cabinet is facing a backlog of housing issues to contend with.

You’re out of free articles for this month

Username or Email

Password Forgot password?

Keep me signed in on this device.

First Name

Last Name

Mobile

Organisation Type

By becoming a member, I agree to receive information and promotional messages from Real Estate Business. I can opt out of these communications at any time. For more information, please visit our Privacy Statement.

Need help signing up? Visit the Help Centre.

“We’ve had nearly a decade of no federal leadership when it comes to housing and homelessness in this country,” Ms Collins told Channel 9’s Today Show.

“We’ve been in there for a few months. We’re trying to step up to the plate and get moving … We’re trying to get some of the programs from our election commitments up and running as quickly as we can,” she promised.

Ms Collins was sure to note the headway that had been made already, including hosting the first housing ministers’ meeting in almost five years several weeks ago, with another planned for later in the year, during which time they intend to work on crafting the much-anticipated National Housing and Homelessness Plan.

Other housing initiatives promised prior to the election by the Albanese government include the national Help to Buy scheme, a regional first home buyers program and the establishment of a National Housing Supply and Affordability Council.

The housing minister noted, however, that not all matters could be settled through the simple allocation of time and money — parliamentary systems would also have to come into play.

“Some of [the government’s initiatives] do need legislation, so we need to work with cross‑benchers to try and get those through the Houses of Parliament as quickly as possible. But unfortunately, these things do take time,” she said.

“After eight years of no leadership when it comes to housing and homelessness, there’s a lot of work to be done and we’re doing it as quickly as we can,” she added.

Ms Collins urged anyone at risk of homelessness to seek help from state and territory initiatives that offer short-term shelter, many of which are funded through the federal government’s National Housing and Homelessness Agreement.

But though she acknowledged these programs do great work, she was frank in addressing the fact that there wouldn’t be much relief in sight until Australia was able to tackle the supply problem that has driven the cost of housing skyward and pushed many Australians out of their permanent residences.

“Ultimately it is an issue of supply and we need to get more homes on the ground as quickly as we can. And that’s what we’re working towards,” she said.

Ms Collins’ comments come days after the REIA urged federal government action to combat the shortage of property managers across the country.

Juliet Helmke

Based in Sydney, Juliet Helmke has a broad range of reporting and editorial experience across the areas of business, technology, entertainment and the arts. She was formerly Senior Editor at The New York Observer.

You need to be a member to post comments. Become a member for free today!