CANBERRA, May 10 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government will invest an extra 2 billion Australian dollars (about 1.45 billion U.S. dollars) to address housing issues, said Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Sunday.
Noting that the housing market is one of the big issues in Australia's economy, Chalmers said at a press conference in Canberra that the investment aims to advance the building of 65,000 new homes.
It is part of an investment worth 47 billion AUD in addressing the housing challenge, he said, noting that the housing fund will be a central feature of the incoming federal budget that will be handed down next week.
Noting the fund as "a very important new contribution to that 47 billion AUD agenda," Housing Minister Clare O'Neil said the fund will be used to build the necessary infrastructure.
Referring to the incoming federal budget, the treasurer said that one of the big challenges is recognizing and responding to those pressures that are coming from the Middle East.
Inflation is forecast to be pushed higher by the war in the Middle East, and Australians are paying a hefty price for the conflict, he said, noting that the budget takes that into consideration.
The Australian government is expected to unveil its federal budget on Tuesday night. ■
