We are in a housing crisis.
Here's how we fix it.
After months of enormous pressure from the Greens, Labor backflipped and agreed to $3 billion of direct and immediate funding for public and community housing.
This is the power of our movement. Without the Greens, Labor would have passed a plan that didn’t guarantee a cent in housing funding, but after months of pressure the Greens have forced Labor to guarantee $500 million a year from next year, and invest an extra $3 billion right now in public and community housing.
But Labor has continued to ignore renters and has refused to cap a freeze on soaring rents.
From now on every rent increase is Labor’s fault, and come the next election Labor should be prepared to hear from renters loud and clear they are fed up with being treated as second class citizens.
Renters are on the march, and the Greens will be fighting alongside them all the way. The Greens are the only party fighting for renters and we will continue to use our balance of power until every renter in the country has real rights including protection from unlimited rent increases. Renters are powerful and their vote is powerful. This fight for renters has only just begun.
@australiangreens Unlimited rent increases should be illegal. Pass it on (to Labor) 🙈 #fyp #auspol #auspolitics #australiangreens #australianlaborparty #housingcrisisaustralia ♬ original sound - Australian Greens
Labor is betraying renters
In the middle of the worst housing crisis in generations, Labor has ignored renters.
Renters and people waiting for social housing need action right now.
Unlimited rent increases should be illegal.
Rather than spending $74 billion over the next decade on negative gearing and capital gains tax handouts to property moguls and $313 billion on tax cuts for the billionaires and politicians, Labor should be offering incentives to the states to freeze rent increases and guaranteeing at least $5 billion a year in funding for public and genuinely affordable housing.
At the same time, Labor is cutting funding for the NRAS program, which means 24,000 families will lose their affordable rental homes and face eviction into homelessness over the next 3 years.
This is a test for Labor. It’s wall-to-wall Labor governments across the mainland, so rent rises are their responsibility.
There are millions of renters staring down the barrel of eviction or financial stress if they cop one more massive rent increase, so just like Labor coordinated energy price caps they now must do the same and cap rents.
We can tackle the housing crisis
For months we have sought to reach a compromise with Labor to pass a bill that will actually start to tackle the scale of the housing crisis. The Greens have secured $3 billion to be directly spent on housing, so we've passed the bill.
But we’ll keep campaigning for:
- Immediately push for a freeze on rent increases through National Cabinet by offering $1 billion a year in extra funding, which states could use to purchase affordable homes right away
- A guaranteed minimum spend of $2.5 billion per year on public, community and affordable housing, starting now.
All of this is possible.
The Greens have made their priorities clear. We want to see a housing plan that actually starts to tackle the scale of the crisis.
Pressure works. Labor said there was no more money for housing this year and we pushed them to find $3b, and although Labor backs unlimited rent rises, we'll push them on that too.
Sounds good to you?
I need your help.
By scrapping tax handouts for property moguls, we could fund building 225,000 publicly owned homes over the next decade, and immediately acquiring vacant and off-the-plan homes for those who can't afford to wait years for a roof over their heads.
We could put an emergency freeze on rent increases in place right now to make sure that nobody has to fear eviction into homelessness because they can't afford to pay the rent.
There's absolutely no reason why we can't give everyone a home they can afford.
But it's going to take all of us.
Sign the petition calling on Labor to agree to our demands.
I'm looking forward to fighting together for a future where everyone has a good place to call home
– Max Chandler Mather
Greens Housing & Homelessness Spokesperson