The Albanese Labor government wants to help more young people realise their dream of homeownership, and I'd certainly like to see more people in my electorate—individuals, couples and young families in Lake Macquarie and on the Central Coast—get ahead. We know it's tough right now. That's why this government is delivering on our commitment to help more people with the costs of renting and buying a home. We need to act and change the system. We know that house prices have risen 400 per cent over the last two decades, twice as fast as income. Home ownership is down seven percentage points for young people. It's why housing was a key feature of the budget we handed down in May this year.

Labor is taking decisive action to boost housing supply, make our tax system fairer to help more people into home ownership, build on our work over the last four years to deliver more houses and provide rent relief to those doing it tough. When you work hard and save, you should be able to buy your first home. Saving a deposit is just a first hurdle for new homebuyers. By introducing a fairer tax system, combined with our five per cent deposit program, we're helping more people in my electorate—in fact, across the country—buy their first home.

Since we came to government, 1,261 people in Shortland have bought their first home thanks to Labor's five per cent deposit scheme, and I look forward to seeing this number grow. Nationally, we're investing a further $2 billion to see more homes delivered more quickly. This includes helping fund the infrastructure needed to get them built—like water, power and roads—cutting red tape, speeding up housing approvals and boosting the skilled construction workforce.

But right now, first home buyers are being priced out of the market by property investors backed by tax breaks. We're levelling the playing field for first home buyers with a fairer tax system. We're banning foreign investors from buying existing homes until the middle of 2029. And we're returning to indexing capital gains for established dwellings, and redirecting investment into new builds.

We're also delivering more social and affordable homes in Shortland through the Social Housing Accelerator program and we're helping more people to rent. We've increased Commonwealth rent assistance by 50 per cent since 2022. This means almost 11,000 people in my electorate are benefiting from this rental support, and we're continuing to work with our state counterparts to strengthen rental protections and expand long-term rental supply.

All of these measures combine to present a responsible and, yes, ambitious package to solve the current housing challenge. We're investing in the future of young people throughout the country, but especially in Lake Macquarie and on the Central Coast, so they can fulfil their rightful aspiration to own their own home.