2022-03-21
Greens Leader Adam Bandt today joins Greens candidate for Richmond Mandy Nolan in Ballina, NSW, to announce that in balance of power after the next election, they will push for an urgently accelerated build of 15,000 new flood-resilient and safely situated homes available to everyone affected by the housing crisis and the floods in Northern NSW.
The Greens have prioritised the seat of Richmond this election and polls and history predict a power-sharing Parliament is likely.
Today’s announcement is part of the Greens’ plan to build 1 million government-built and government-owned homes across the country. Ms Nolan and Mr Bandt will say the Greens will push for this ‘big build’ to begin in the Northern Rivers, with these 15,000 prioritised to deal with both the immediate impacts of the 2022 floods as well as the long standing homelessness and housing crisis in the Northern Rivers.
The Greens’ housing plan includes options for low-cost and long-term secure rentals, purchase options at around $300k for first-home buyers and people locked out of the housing market, and high quality public housing for everyone who needs it.
This commitment is in addition to the Greens’ plan to extend government-backed insurance to all flood victims, the NSW Greens’ urgent calls last week for Perottet to step up and provide renters with relief in flood affected areas, and the Federal Greens’ call for income support and the Age Pension be increased to $88 a day, above the poverty line.
Quotes attributable to Leader of the Greens Adam Bandt MP:
“By backing more coal and gas and failing to act on urgent climate mitigation advice, Scott Morrison’s government has helped cause this devastation.
“The Northern Rivers had a housing crisis before these floods, and now we’re seeing people moving back into unsafe houses, couch surfing, sleeping in cars and moving into caravans, all with no end in sight and no help to rebuild their lives.
“If Richmond elects Mandy Nolan to join the Greens in the House of Representatives, we’ll kick the Liberals out and push the next government to urgently build 15,000 homes in the Northern Rivers so everyone has a secure, affordable roof over their head and nobody is left behind.
“When we kick this government out we can build a safer life for all of us by acting on climate, keeping coal and gas in the ground and building affordable homes.”
Quotes attributable to Greens candidate for Richmond Mandy Nolan:
“This flooding has supercharged a housing crisis that already existed in the Northern Rivers.
Housing was already hard to find and unaffordable for many - now the situation is even more desperate. People are being forced into overcrowded housing with friends, parking caravans on their front lawns or living in makeshift shelters.
“When it comes to the housing crisis here, both of the major parties have failed. We have a 15 year deficit in public housing builds which has been supercharged by these floods; if our Labor member hasn’t delivered housing after 17 years here, why on earth should we believe her now?
“The Greens are the only party offering tangible, long term solutions to the biggest and most serious problems we face: climate and skyrocketing costs of living.”