Radio transcript - ABC South East Breakfast

EDDIE WILLIAMS: You’ve heard over the past week about a range of different initiatives that could each play a little bit of a role in chipping away at the housing challenges that this region is facing. The state government's looking at artificial intelligence to speed up approvals for new homes. There's a move to tax short term rentals to try to open up more supply for long term rental accommodation. In Narooma, plans to turn old motel into affordable long-term rentals. And you were hearing yesterday about this controversial proposal for a senior’s village just outside Bermagui. You know, any one of those things maybe could make some impact, but how to have a big dent in the housing crisis and how to do it right across the country. Kristy McBain is the Federal Member for Eden-Monaro. Good morning.

KRISTY MCBAIN: Good morning, Eddie.

WILLIAMS: There's a lot of discussion, a lot of different things on this issue at the moment. Is there enough national leadership when it comes to housing in the regions?

MCBAIN: For the first time in a decade you've got a federal government committed to doing more in the housing sector, including the $2 billion Housing Accelerator Fund, where we're working with states and territories to get more social and affordable homes on the ground. In the first twelve months of our government, 15,000 people were helped into homes across regional Australia with the Regional First Home Buyers Guarantee, particularly because we changed the criteria to enable more people to be eligible to take up those offers. We have now legislated the Housing Australia Future Fund, which will secure an ongoing pipeline of money that we can help the states and territories build more social and affordable homes. The new Help to Buy proposal is currently being debated in parliament, which is really important. The government takes an equity stake in property to allow more people to get into the market sooner. We've seen similar programs in different states across the country working well, particularly Western Australia.

WILLIAMS: As part of that debate around Help to Buy, the Greens are wanting to negotiate and are pushing for things like changes to negative gearing. Is that something the government will consider?

MCBAIN: No, this program stands on its own merits and we won't be horse trading with the Greens over negative gearing. We've been very clear that these programs need to stand on their own. If it's not assisting more people into homes, if it's not assisting getting more supply on the market, then we don't want to go down that path. We've done some really important things in the housing sector already, and it's important we continue to work with states and territories, and in particular local governments as well, to make sure that planning systems are fit for the 21st century. We're helping more people unlock supply across the country.

WILLIAMS: When it comes to increasing supply, a lot of individual proposals, and I alluded to that one for a retirement village for over 50s near Bermagui. Given a lot of individual proposals end up being quite controversial in local communities for a whole range of reasons, how do you deal with that when there's a need to increase housing supply? Communities have often quite legitimate concerns about individual developments.

MCBAIN: There is absolutely a place for people to raise those concerns through the DA process. They raise them directly with councils in this regard or with the joint regional planning panel. If that development is over a certain dollar figure, that's the way the planning system is set up, so that people can have their say. It's resulted in changes in some developments going ahead in recent times. You only have to look back to the Bermagui Woolworths. The design of that substantially changed following community consultation. It is an important factor in the planning system, but it's really important that we understand that we need more houses on the market right across the country. It's fantastic to see people looking at the area as to what they can develop into the future.

WILLIAMS: Tackling short term rentals, so things like Airbnb, Snowy Monaro and particularly Jindabyne have some of the highest rates in the country. The state government's looking at this at the moment, but it's an issue around Australia. Is this something that the federal government can look to manage as well?

MCBAIN: We're not looking at that at this stage. As you've just said, a lot of states are going down their own path with how they regulate or manage short term rentals, because we know that sometimes it does skew the permanent rental market. It's not something the Federal Government is looking at.

WILLIAMS: You're hearing from Kristy McBain, the Member for Eden-Monaro on ABC South East. Four Corners this week has revealed some of the tactics that supermarkets use to keep prices high and to limit competition. There are now six different inquiries and reviews that have been called since late last year into the two big supermarket chains and whether they are price gouging. If they are, what action can the government take?

MCBAIN: It's really important that we actually do something. We know that Australians are under pressure with the cost of living and we also know at a time where we're seeing prices increase at our supermarkets, our farmers aren't actually attracting any higher dollars for the produce that they're sending in. It's really important that we do look at this, and I met with the Food and Grocery Council, which is a group of peak industry bodies, only in the last couple of weeks, about the impact on their farmers and their producers. We've directed the ACCC to have a look into this, particularly the pricing and competition in the sector. It's really important that we get a report back, and this is also on the back of, as you've said, other reviews that we have announced that we are undertaking, in particular into the food and grocery code of conduct. We want to make sure we've got a competitive sector, but we also want to make sure that consumers aren't being unfairly slugged, whilst farmers are also being squeezed for prices as well. It's important the government does something. The last time the ACCC did an investigation into supermarket pricing was back in the last Labor Government in 2008. It's really important that we do get on top of it at a time we know where people are doing it tough.

WILLIAMS: Yeah. How do you do that and try to drive more competition when you have the two biggest supermarkets, Coles and Woolworths, dominating such a large portion of the sector?

MCBAIN: It is important, and one of the things we've asked the ACCC to look at is the competitiveness of the supermarket sector itself. Australia is one of the most concentrated markets when it comes to supermarkets and sometimes that does not serve our communities well. It's important that the ACCC looks into that and following their investigation, a range of recommendations will be put to the government that we can then look at to see if we need to do anything through regulation or legislation to deal with those issues.

WILLIAMS: Now, this region has cold winters and pretty warm summers. You're opening up some energy efficiency grants. What's behind these?

MCBAIN: Really important that we continue to support small and medium businesses across the country, but particularly across Eden-Monaro, to save on their energy bills and lower their emissions. Round two of the energy efficiency grants will provide grants of between $10,00 to $25, 000 to businesses to support upgrades to more energy efficient equipment. In the last round, we saw a local swim school be able to upgrade to an electric heat pump, which will save them a lot of dollars throughout the year and also reduce their energy prices. Really excited that round two is happening and applications open on Monday next week.

WILLIAMS: Can I ask you a question as a former Mayor of Bega Valley? I've got a text here, it seems just north of Bermagui residents can’t attend council meetings, voice their concerns with contentious development proposals such as one proposed at Broulee, which is in the news this morning. She says shock horror. It seems democracy is at work in Eurobodalla and she suggests maybe that's the answer for Bermagui residents, a move to ask to have the boundary moved and for them to be part of Eurobodalla rather than Bega Valley. How challenging is it for a local council, I guess, to cater for the needs of residents in the more extreme ends of the region, the furthest north, the furthest south that are further away from that centre of council?

MCBAIN: Bega Valley Shire does have open council meetings. You can attend any council meeting every three weeks from 2:00pm. There is a public forum that's held at midday before a council meeting, where members of the public can speak directly to the councillors about anything on the agenda of that day. You can also contact council and request to brief councillors on separate issues in between those meeting days if it's something that they're considering in the future. Democracy is alive and well in all local councils across the country. In NSW there's a requirement for a public forum session and a requirement for open council meetings, so that right exists.

WILLIAMS: Of course, you're the Minister for Local Government as well. I should have mentioned. Just finally, when you were the Mayor, Andrew Constance was the Member for Bega. In the news this morning, he's putting his hand up for Liberal pre-selection in Gilmore. Would he make a good federal parliamentarian?

MCBAIN: Andrew spent about 19 years in the NSW parliament. He clearly knows the process and I think he's put his hand up for pre-selection in the previous senate pre-selection races. Again, that's democracy at work within the Liberal party, so best of luck to him.

WILLIAMS: Kristy McBain, thanks for your time this morning.

MCBAIN: Great to speak with you.