Hon. MAJ SCANLON (Gaven—ALP) (Minister for Housing, Local Government and Planning and Minister for Public Works) (10.11 am): Our new Miles Labor government is doing what matters for Queensland. One of the first things our Premier did was deliver his Homes for Queenslanders plan. We committed to delivering one million new homes, including 53,500 social and affordable homes, by 2046. Our new Miles government is hard at work delivering on our commitment. We have been pulling all levers, working with local councils and the private sector to make sure all Queenslanders have a place to call home.

This week we announced that we would raise the stamp duty exemption threshold for first home buyers, supporting thousands more Queenslanders to buy their first home. This is on top of what we are already doing for first home buyers, including doubling the first home owner’s grant to $30,000— the most generous in the country. We are also unlocking more housing by getting the planning system right. We are fast-tracking approvals through our state facilitated development process and incentivising the development of new homes close to public transport and where people work. We are also supporting councils with billions of dollars, including funding for trunk infrastructure that will unlock new housing and dedicated funding for updating local planning schemes, and we are using traditional builds and innovative methods of construction to build these homes faster. We are rebuilding our government builder QBuild, and we are investing in free TAFE and apprenticeships to build our skills pipeline. On average, every quarter our Labor government has already approved, commenced and delivered more homes than under those opposite.

We are also working with the Commonwealth government. This week the new Miles Labor government passed legislation to make Queensland the first state in Australia to access the Commonwealth Help to Buy shared equity scheme. That means Queenslanders will get first dibs on funds from the Commonwealth which could deliver homes for more than 8,000 Queenslanders. We are also supporting renters, delivering $160 million through our rental relief package with interest- and fee-free bond loans and emergency rent help for people in crisis.

On top of all of this, the new Miles government is doing what matters for vulnerable Queenslanders because we believe that all Queenslanders deserve a home. We are boosting support for specialist homelessness services by 20 per cent. It is what they have asked for and it is what we have delivered. We are providing more temporary accommodation and expanding the immediate housing response fund. Our government is doing what matters for Queensland. We are delivering more homes for Queenslanders and we have a funded, costed plan to back it up.