Shadow housing minister says government should be ashamed as targets fall short
Shadow minister for housing Michael Sukkar has accused the federal government of failing to deliver on its housing promises, stating that after nearly three years in office, it should be embarrassed by the lack of progress.
Sukkar’s remarks followed revelations that the government’s Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) had not resulted in the construction of any new homes. While the government had reported delivering more than 300 homes under the scheme, it was later clarified that these properties had been acquired and repurposed rather than newly built.
Labor hasn’t built a single home since being elected. We just can’t afford another three years of Labor. https://t.co/P0us5vHR0p
— Michael Sukkar (@MichaelSukkarMP) March 11, 2025
The HAFF, a $10 billion initiative announced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in June 2023, was intended to fund the construction of 30,000 affordable homes within its first five years.
“We were able to unveil in Senate estimates… that actually after nearly three years of this Albanese government, not one home has been built as a result of a Labor government policy, not one single home that directly relates to a policy that they’ve put in place,” Sukkar said in an interview with Sky News.
Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) indicate that Australia is also well behind its National Housing Accord targets. In 2024, building approvals totalled 171,394 — 29% below the 240,000 approvals needed annually to achieve the government’s goal of constructing 1.2 million homes by 2029. At the current rate, annual approvals would need to rise to 276,994 for the next four years to stay on track.
The Housing Industry Association (HIA) warned that the country could fall short by nearly 200,000 homes over five years. Its senior economist, Tom Devitt, stated that current projections suggest just over one million new homes will be built, missing the government’s target.
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