The Coalition will guarantee $1.5 billion for housing infrastructure in regional Australia, helping unlock new homes and ease the housing shortage hurting families and communities across the country.
Under the commitment, 30 per cent of the Coalition’s $5 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund will be ring-fenced for regional, rural and remote Australia.
The funding will help deliver the roads, water, sewerage, power and other essential infrastructure needed to turn land into homes and get stalled housing projects moving.
The $5 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund will help unlock up to 400,000 new homes across Australia, with the new guarantee ensuring regional Australia receives at least $1.5 billion.
Leader of the Opposition Angus Taylor said Labor’s housing crisis was making the Australian dream of home ownership harder for a generation of young Australians.
“You cannot fix a housing shortage without building more homes, and you cannot build more homes without the roads, water, sewerage and power to support them,” Mr Taylor said.
“Our $1.5 billion guarantee will make sure regional Australia gets its fair share, unlock more land for housing and help get more Australians into a home of their own.”
“Labor has driven up the cost of building, piled new taxes onto housing and allowed migration to run well ahead of the homes Australia can build. Our plan will turn that around by cutting costs, building more homes and putting Australians first.”
The Coalition’s broader housing plan will:
- Invest $5 billion in housing infrastructure, including at least $1.5 billion guaranteed for regional Australia, to unlock up to 400,000 homes.
- Reserve the 5 per cent deposit scheme for Australian citizens, ensuring
- taxpayer-backed housing assistance puts Australians first.
- Slash unnecessary red tape in the National Construction Code, while maintaining core safety standards, saving up to $70,000 on the cost of a new home.
- Axe Labor’s housing taxes, which would otherwise cost Australia at least 35,000 new homes.
- Cap migration to housing completions, so the number of people coming to Australia does not keep running ahead of the homes we can build.
Leader of The Nationals Senator Matt Canavan said regional communities are the long-term solution to Australia's housing crisis.
“Regional Australia is the answer to our housing shortages,” Senator Canavan said.
“We can't just keep stacking people up in our major cities without losing the Australian dream.
“That dream should include a backyard big enough to play cricket in, and regional Australia offers that hope.
“With more than half Australia's population living in just five cities, it is time to develop the rest of our nation. The only way we end up with a shortage of land in a country as big as Australia is if we fail to invest in the massive opportunity of regional Australia.
“Investing in the regions helps those in the big cities too. Not everyone will want to move to a regional town but those who do free up housing and other infrastructure for those who don’t.”
Shadow Minister for Housing and Homelessness Senator Andrew Bragg said the Coalition’s housing policy was focused on one simple goal of getting more good homes built faster, and getting more Australians into home ownership.
“A housing target is meaningless if the connecting roads are not built, the sewer is not hooked up and the water does not reach the block. We are funding the practical infrastructure that gets homes out of planning documents and onto the ground,” Senator Bragg said.
“We will attack the cost of housing from every direction: cut up to $70,000 from the cost of building a new house through a scaled back 80-page National Construction Code, axe Labor’s housing tax hikes, unlock more housing supply through investment in enabling infrastructure and make sure migration never again overwhelms housing supply.”
“And when taxpayers help someone buy their first home through the 5 per cent deposit scheme, that help should go to Australian citizens and not Labor’s free for all. Australians who have worked hard, paid their taxes and saved for a home should come first.”
The housing package is a central part of the Coalition’s Plan to Fix the Economy and Protect Our Way of Life with Lower Taxes, Cheaper Power, Less Migration and More Homes.