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Judith Sloan, economist and regular contributor for the Australian recently wrote an excellent expose on the Federal Government’s flawed housing plan. We have looked at Ms Sloan’s concerns, and agree that she has summarised One Nation’s position well.

The rental housing market in Australia has been facing tremendous pressure due to long waiting times for social housing and rising rents. Given this situation, it is not surprising that the federal government is seeking to throw money at the problem, the Greens are barking at their heels on the left and soaking a lot of votes over rental prices. Australians are hurting in an environment entirely of Labor’s making – high inflation (including in the housing sector) because of excessive government spending and exploding immigration.

However, one of Labor’s proposed solutions – the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) – has been criticised as one of the most imprudent government policies ever suggested.

The plan is for the government to raise $10bn in debt and get the Future Fund to invest the funds. The net returns will then be invested in social and affordable housing each year. From the expected average annual return of $500m, the plan is to invest in a total of 6000 social and affordable dwellings each year. However, these numbers are extremely modest considering that at the current rate of population growth, we need at least around a quarter of a million new homes just to accommodate the extra people. It is also estimated that there are at least a half-million people on the current waiting lists for social housing.

Furthermore, at $500m each year, it works out as just more than $83,000 a dwelling funded by HAFF each year. This sum is not enough to cover the full costs of construction and land. Will this sum be used to subsidise other financiers by, for example, subsidising the gap between the market and actual rents paid by low-income tenants? It is unclear what the government thinks it can achieve by allocating just more than $83,000 a dwelling.

The HAFF is essentially a bet on the equity risk premium that generates higher returns than the cost of the debt. If this were really a good idea, it should be extended to all forms of government spending, which, of course, no one thinks is a good idea. The only explanation seems to be the political value of cashing in on the Future Fund brand and having a perpetual entity.

In the meantime, the rental crisis is becoming grimmer as each month passes. The vacancy rates in many parts of the country are at historic lows, and the annual rate of increase in rents ranges from 10 to 30 per cent. Rents are gobbling up higher proportions of tenants’ incomes, for those who can find suitable accommodation in the first place.

Just when it’s clear that the rental situation is dire and becoming worse, the federal government has facilitated a substantial surge in the number of migrants entering the country, particularly international students but other temporary entrants as well. Before the pandemic, the annual net overseas migration (long-term arrivals minus long-term departures) was 240,000 in 2019. On current trends, NOM will end up between 350,000 and 400,000 this calendar year. Combined with natural population growth, that’s more than the entire population of Canberra – although the migrants don’t live in Canberra but largely in Queensland (also Melbourne and Sydney).

The Treasurer has tried to justify this surging migration by making the point that there was a substantial hiatus during Covid, and we are only making up for the “lost” arrivals. What he fails to mention is that the pandemic was also associated with a substantial stalling in the building of new accommodation that is needed to accompany strong population growth. In other words, the last thing we should do is try to make up for these “lost” arrivals. It’s a clear case of the government implementing inconsistent policies.

The HAFF is ill-conceived and won’t do anything to alleviate the rental crisis any time soon. It’s also too small to have any real impact. On the other hand, egged on by pro-immigration Treasury officials and other vested interests, the government has decided to open the floodgates for even more migrants to come here and take homes away from Aussies desperate for accommodation.

The Australian Senate has formally backed a proposal from Australian Greens Senator Jordon Steele-John to hold a Senate inquiry into attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessment and support services in Australia.

Senator Jordon Steele-John proposed the inquiry in the hope of addressing common barriers to adequate ADHD assessment and care, as well as establishing possible policy interventions to improve accessibility and outcomes in this space. 

Around a million Australians are directly impacted by ADHD, a widely misunderstood neurodevelopmental disability that can cause significant impairment and dysfunction in people’s lives.

Senator Jordon Steele-John, Australian Greens spokesperson on Disability Services, Health and Mental Health said:

”Last year more than 10,000 ADHD community members answered my call to share their experiences with the healthcare system.

“The results are confronting to say the least, identifying significant access barriers to ADHD assessment and support services in Australia. 

“In particular, a large proportion of respondents shared issues with cost, wait time and stigma from their healthcare providers.

“The serious long-term impacts of ADHD are well-established, yet we have not seen a single substantive conversation about the condition in Parliament over the past five years.

“We must urgently address the gap between what the ADHD community needs and what it’s actually receiving. 

“I am thrilled that the parliament has agreed on the need for this inquiry. On behalf of the one million Australians being left behind every single day, I hope this inquiry will create recommendations and urgent action to improve outcomes for people with ADHD.”

Senator Jordon Steele-John has today moved a vote on his Private Senators Bill the Defence Amendment (Parliamentary Approval of Overseas Service) Bill 2020. The bill would require parliamentary approval for the deployment of ADF personnel overseas. 20 years on from the invasion of Iraq and in the shadow of the AUKUS political deal, it is more important than ever that Australians know who exactly is deciding to go to war. 

Senator Jordon Steele-John, Greens spokesperson for Peace and Foreign Affairs said: 

“Over the last 20 years, the Prime Minister and Cabinet have time and time again unilaterally decided to follow the United States into conflicts like Afghanistan and Iraq with disastrous outcomes.”

“In 2003, John Howard was able to send Australians to fight an illegal war in Iraq despite the overwhelming opposition of the community because of legal loopholes and a system that lacks any accountability or transparency.” 

“Instead of taking the time to reflect on the invasion of Iraq and how we can avoid repeating the same mistakes, the Albanese government seems determined to repeat them by refusing any meaningful reform.”

“We urgently need to reform the way Australia goes to war so that we are never again dragged to war based on the lies of politicians. The Greens want to see a vote in the parliament before ADF troops are deployed overseas, and an end to military pacts like AUKUS that will drag us into wars we shouldn’t participate in. “

“The community want to see change, 87% of Australians want to see parliament have final approval of the decision to go to war. It’s disappointing, yet not surprising, that the Albanese government joined with the Liberals and voted no. =

“Australian Labor refused to listen to the Australian people, their own membership and former Labor Prime Minister Simon Crean – who all want reform.“

Falling inflation shows the Reserve Bank has no justification to again raise interest rates next week, Greens Economic Justice spokesperson Senator Nick McKim says.

“Today’s figures are the strongest indication yet that inflation has peaked.”

“For months the RBA has used the spectre of a wage-price spiral to justify repeated and unnecessary rate hikes,” Senator McKim said.

“That spectre has now been banished.”

“By the RBA’s own admission current high inflation was always a supply side problem.”

“Rate rises were never the right tool to tackle this bout of inflation.”

“And now that inflation is coming down, the rate rises must stop.”

“The RBA, aided and abetted by a do-nothing Labor Government, has inflicted massive pain on renters and mortgage holders with this unnecessary rate hike cycle.”

“Next week we will see if the RBA is finally prepared to act in the best interests of Australians instead of blindly following the rest of the world towards a recession.”

The Greens welcome the introduction of family law amendments aimed at putting children’s welfare first in family law matters.

After years of inaction, and unnecessary, damaging inquiries, steps to address the regressive Howard era changes to the family court system are long-overdue.

The women’s safety sector and legal advocates have long called for a child-safety focussed court and we look forward to these reforms moving closer to that goal. But these outcomes can only be achieved with adequate resources, and both the Federal Circuit and Family Court and the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children remain woefully underfunded.

Greens leader in the Senate and spokesperson on women Senator Larissa Waters said:

“Finally, after years of wasted time and damaging misinformation campaigns – including Pauline Hanson’s toxic family law inquiry – we may start to see real improvements to the family law system.

“Since the Howard government re-wrote Australia’s family laws in 2006, we have seen the presumption of shared care weaponised, instead of the best interests of kids coming first.

“Gendered violence is at the core of many cases in the family law system, and we know children frequently bear the brunt of violent relationships and protracted legal matters.

“We look forward to supporting amendments based on expert advice, instead of the political grandstanding that has traumatised victim-survivors, put children at risk, and provided a platform for hate and misinformation.

“The Greens will review the proposed amendments and work with stakeholders and the government to ensure a strong, fair, and safe family law system.

“While these reforms are welcome, without more funding to courts and frontline family and domestic violence services, delays, unequal representation and lack of support will continue to put women and children at risk.

“The only way to strengthen the outcomes and timeliness of family law matters is to ensure they are heard by experienced, specialist judges. Funding for judicial training, as well as wraparound support services including safe rooms, risk screening and triaging programs, and cultural liaison workers are essential to the success of any reform.

“If the Attorney General wants these reforms to work, his government needs to stump up the funding for them to do so.”

Today’s release of the latest National Community Attitudes Towards Violence Against Women Survey (NCAS) shows that serious cultural change is needed to end violence against women.

The Australian National Research Organisation on Women Safety (ANROWS) has conducted the survey every four years since 2009. While attitudes towards family, sexual and domestic violence improved initially, today’s report shows attitudes have stalled and much more work needs to be done to overturn harmful stereotypes that drive gendered violence.

We need comprehensive respectful relationships education, more data on perpetration, and full funding for prevention and early intervention programs.

Greens leader in the Senate and spokesperson on women Senator Larissa Waters said:

“Community attitudes towards victim-survivors highlighted in today’s ANROWS survey show just how far we have to go in the fight against gendered violence.

“The fact that more than 30 per cent of respondents believe women in custody battles make up or exaggerate claims of violence is staggering, and a timely indicator of the need for the Family Law reforms being introduced by the government today.

“Misconceptions about where violence occurs perpetuate the issue and keep it hidden – 90 per cent of respondents agreed that violence against women is a national problem, but only 47 per cent believed it was a problem within their own suburb or town. But the evidence is clear: it is a problem in every suburb, in every town, and it is being perpetrated by people we know.

“The survey also helps to explain low rates of reporting. Is it any wonder that victim-survivors are reluctant to come forward when so many people openly disbelieve them, and when so many women report being re-traumatised by the justice system?

“Stopping violence against women will take systemic action to tackle root causes and transform harmful social norms, but it also requires adequate funding of the organisations that do the hard work on the frontlines of this epidemic.

“Funding for prevention programs, including Our Watch’s Respectful Relationships, would help embed a culture of gender equality and should be part of our national curriculum from early childhood education onwards.

“The ANROWS data shows far too many people do not know where to go when experiencing abuse. And we know that far too many people who do reach out to over-stretched services cannot get support because services simply cannot meet demand.

“The women’s safety sector has repeatedly said that it will take an investment of $1B per year to ensure no one seeking help is turned away. This is the absolute minimum Australians should expect.

“The Greens will continue to call for women’s safety to be a priority in the May budget. Everyone should read the ANROWS survey today and work in their homes, communities and workplaces to start positive conversations about respect and ending gendered violence.”