Senator RUSTON (South Australia—Assistant Minister for International Development and the Pacific) (16:55): I seek leave to make a short statement. The PRESIDENT: Leave is granted for one minute. Senator RUSTON: Housing is primarily the responsibility of the states and territories. However, the government understands how important the issue is and is doing its share of the heavy lifting. The government delivered a comprehensive housing affordability plan in the 2017-18 budget. It included providing more than $7.5 billion to the states and territories over the next five years through the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement, which includes $620 million in indexed funding for homelessness services, which will be matched by the state governments.