Senator GALLAGHER (Australian Capital Territory—Minister for Finance, Minister for the Public Service, Minister for Women, Minister for Government Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (14:42): I thank the senator for the question. The government are very proud of the housing policies that we've put in place to deal with the challenges on housing supply because of, again, what we inherited from those opposite after a decade of ignoring housing, having nothing to do and nothing to say, and allowing housing affordability to be ignored— Opposition senators interjecting— Senator Bragg: You're building fewer houses. Your scoreboard's terrible. It's horrendous. The PRESIDENT: Senator Bragg! I don't think I need to have to call a whole list— Senator Bragg: Okay, I'll go back to— The PRESIDENT: You're not in a debate with me. There have been a number of interjections across the chamber from the left. You need to listen respectfully and quietly. Senator GALLAGHER: I'm sure the senator has read the Treasury modelling and the Treasury evidence around the five per cent deposits. We don't apologise for looking at every single— Opposition senators interjecting — The PRESIDENT: I remind the chamber that this is a question from Senator Whitten. The interjections from the opposition are disorderly and rude to Senator Whitten. He has the right to have his answer heard in silence. Senator GALLAGHER: Probably relevant for this discussion as well is the fact that construction cost inflation has fallen under this government. From a high under the coalition, when it was running annually at 17 per cent, it has now fallen to 2.1 per cent under Labor. There are more first home buyers under Labor. We've directly helped 197,000 Australians into homeownership sooner. That's three times more than the former government. Housing approvals are up 15 per cent compared to a year ago, with townhouses and apartments up 55 per cent compared to a year ago. New home starts are up, new dwelling commencements were up 9.2 per cent in the March quarter and, overall, over 520,000 new homes have been built under the Labor government. This includes more than 5,000 social and affordable homes delivered with federal government investment compared to—how many?—373 over a decade by those opposite, because they didn't care about social and affordable housing. That is the progress we are making. We will use every lever available to us to ensure that everyone has access to secure and sustainable housing. (Time expired) The PRESIDENT: Senator Whitten, first supplementary?