I'm Tanya Plibersek - the Minister for Housing.
Australia is facing the deepest global recession since World War 2.
We need to act decisively and urgently.
That is why our Nation Building and Jobs Plan includes an historic $6.4 billion to build new homes for Australians who are doing it really tough.
We will build 20,000 new social housing dwellings over the next three years.
We will also repair and upgrade around 2 ½ thousand run down homes to make them liveable again.
This is the biggest single investment in social housing this country has ever seen.
It will make a huge difference to people's lives - like the 28,000 pensioners who are in the private rental market paying half of their pensions in rent; like the 16,000 Australians who are sleeping rough every night; and the thousands of women and children leaving homes where there is domestic violence.
Just before Christmas we pledged to halve homelessness by 2020. This package is an important step towards making that happen.
It also builds on our previous housing measures - the first home owners boost, the National Rental Affordability Scheme and others.
This $6.4 billion package meets a number of needs - it will help homeless Australians and people struggling to keep a roof over their heads.
It will bring growth and reform to social housing and it will also help keep our economy strong by boosting building and construction.