South West MP doubles down on anti-immigration while slamming Commonwealth’s housing crisis management

A South West MP has doubled down on his anti-immigration rhetoric during a debate about housing in Parliament this week. Speaking to Parliament on Monday, Forrest MHR Ben Small pointed to migration and general mismanagement as the driving factors behind Australia’s housing crisis. The attack came as part of a motion to condemn the Commonwealth Government, claiming Australia’s housing crisis is now worse than ever. The move claimed the collapse of housing construction, expansion of the 5 per cent deposit scheme, the failing Housing Australia Future Fund and ongoing drama with the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union had led to housing crisis. But, Mr Small brought immigration into the debate. He claimed the Government had overseen a record surge in demand for housing through net overseas migration which he said the Government had “studiously avoided” discussing in the housing debate. “We’ve had record migration, we’ve had a collapse in the supply of new housing,” he said. “Yet, still, we hear all this talk about aspiration, ambition and doing more than ever — the reality is that Australians don’t sleep at night under a roof of hot air from this Government. “The reality is that, in my electorate of Forrest, I keep hearing about people with jobs and kids who are forced to live in cars in carparks — it is a shame on this Government.” Melbourne MP Sarah Witty hit back, saying the Federal Government had built more homes, supported more renters and invested in social house at a scale not seen in decades. “This progress is making a real difference in everyday lives, because every house built by this Government is proof that progress is not just possible, it is happening,” she said. “We have a $43 billion housing agenda that is tackling the crisis from every angle — the Commonwealth is no longer a bystander in this challenge, and we are the most ambitious government on housing since the post-war period.”