Cost of living relief

Real, long-term solutions to the cost of living and housing crisis.

Real, long-term solutions to the cost of living and housing crisis

Labor and the LNP are letting corporations and a handful of wealthy investors rip ordinary Queenslanders off, while most households struggle to get ahead. We need a plan to deliver genuine cost of living relief and make sure every Queenslander has the opportunity to live a good life. 

The Greens’ cost of living plans aren’t about short-term sugar hits before the election, convoluted tax incentives, means testing, or layers of bureaucracy - they’re about long-term measures to make everyone’s lives easier. 

Cheaper groceries

In just two years the price of cheese has soared by 27%, milk 23%, bread 24%, and eggs by 20%. Meanwhile, Coles and Woolies have some of the highest profit margins in the developed world and the biggest market share of any developed nation. 

Labor and the LNP refuse to stop the price gouging because they’ve accepted millions in donations from the big supermarkets. But the Greens don’t take corporate donations, so we’re not afraid to stand up to Coles and Woolies. 

The Greens will:

  • Cap prices for 30 basic essentials like bread, milk and nappies
  • Break up the Coles and Woolies duopoly to help shoppers & farmers, by legislating new powers for a Fair Prices Authority to limit their market share 
  • Stop dodgy supermarket behaviour, like land-banking of development sites & restrictive land covenants
  • Triple funding for emergency food programs, like food banks, to $20 million per year.

You can read our full plan for cheaper groceries here.

Cheaper rents and mortgages

Secure, affordable homes for renters 

Rents are up 43% since 2021, and Labor and the LNP have abandoned the 1.7 million Queenslanders who rent. They have refused to ban unlimited rent increases, which are keeping home ownership out of reach for many while pushing thousands into financial stress and homelessness. 

The Greens will:

  • Freeze rents for two years to give wages a chance to catch up
  • Create a long-term cap on rent increases after the freeze finishes, at 1% per year
  • Give renters a guaranteed right to a lease renewal, unless the landlord has a good reason not to, and increase notice periods to 6 months if so
  • Strengthen minimum rental standards, including insulation, ventilation and ceiling fans
  • Allow renters to make minor changes to their home.

You can read our full plan for renters here.

Cheaper mortgages with a public bank

Right now over $400 from the average monthly mortgage repayment is pure profit for the Big Four banks, who’ve made $30 billion in profit every year as the market exploded. We used to have publicly owned banks, like the Commonwealth Bank and Qld SGIO, but the major parties sold them off in the 1990s. 

The Greens will bring back a State Government owned public bank, to offer:

  • Owner-occupiers interest rates 1.5% below the Big Four banks, saving the average first home buyer $514 every month and helping drive down rates among the Big Four
  • Savings & transaction accounts, credit cards & EFTPOS with no fees for households or small businesses.

You can read our full plan for a Queensland Public Bank here.

Cheaper power bills

Since Labor privatised electricity retail in 2006, the real cost of electricity bills has more than doubled. By investing in publicly owned renewable energy, we can cut emissions and costs. 

The Greens will: 

  • Reverse the privatisation of electricity retail by abolishing private retailers like Origin, AGL and Alinta and providing electricity as a public, non-profit essential service 
  • Stop price gouging by state owned generators and network companies and redirect profits into savings for Queensland households and businesses
  • Reach 100% renewable power generation by 2030 by doubling the pace of Labor’s energy transition with an additional $65.3 billion in renewable energy generation and storage.

Our plans will save the average household $531 (21%), and a typical small business $1025 (12%) per year, and unlike the Government’s one-off rebates, the savings will be long term.

You can read about our plan to reverse privatisation, cut electricity bills, and reach 100% renewable energy by 2030 here.

Free sport for kids

In 2024, the average Queensland family will spend more than $1,300 per child on kids’ sports every year, and too often kids from low-income families miss out altogether. The Greens believe no one should have to choose between breaking the bank or sitting on the sidelines. 

The Greens will:

  • Fund one free sporting program, or season of club sport, every year, for every child and Queenslander under 18
  • Refund up to $150 in sports equipment purchases for every Queensland child
  • Support clubs to increase capacity with annual grants of $25,000
  • Allocate $200 million towards acquiring new sporting fields and green space in growing suburbs so that every kid can play sport, no matter where they live.

You can read about our plan for free kids’ sport here.

Fee-free state schools

Queensland’s State schools are underfunded by $1.7 billion every year because the Labor State Government refuses to meet the national minimum standards. That not only means that classrooms are under-resourced and teachers overworked, but parents are forced to plug the gap with higher state school fees and resource charges.

The Greens will:

  • Abolish all out-of-pocket costs at State schools, ensuring students receive free laptops, uniforms & excursions with another $4.4 B in extra funding over four years
  • Introduce a universal free school breakfast and lunch program at every public school
  • Fully fund Queensland State schools to 100% of the national minimum standards, with $8.4 billion extra over four years
  • Reduce class sizes and improve teachers’ pay and conditions.

Read our plan to fully fund State schools, abolish State school fees, and cut out-of-pocket costs for families here. 

Free, quality healthcare for all Queenslanders 

200 free GP clinics

It’s getting harder to afford to see the doctor, with the number of fully bulk-billing GPs in Queensland dropping by 31% in just six years. While GPs are struggling to bulk-bill because the Medicare rebate is still too low, data shows Queenslanders are putting off basic health checks as they face tough choices like whether to pay the rent or see a doctor.

We need to make sure every Queenslander can see the doctor for free. 

 The Greens will: 

  • Establish 200 free public health clinics across Queensland, focusing on areas with less access to bulk-billing GPs
  • Invest $4.8 billion to staff the clinics with publicly funded and salaried GPs, nurses, and allied health workers including physiotherapists and psychologists, all providing free patient visits to any Queenslander 
  • Open these free clinics seven days a week and out of hours.

Read the full plan for the Greens’ public GP clinics here. 

20 free psychology sessions per year

Seeing a psychologist can be life-saving. But since the federal Labor government halved the number of Medicare-subsidised sessions from 20 to 10, more Queenslanders than ever are struggling to access support.

With rents and grocery costs sky high, most people can’t afford to pay $200 or more to see a psychologist. The Greens believe mental healthcare is a basic right, not a luxury.

The Greens will: 

  • Employ 1,000 clinical and registered psychologists at our 200 free public health clinics
  • Provide 20 free sessions each year for every Queenslander who accesses these psychologists.

Read the full plan for 20 free psychology sessions here. 

Free and frequent public transport

Now that both major parties have adopted the Greens’ calls for cheap, flat public transport fares, we need to expand the network so no one misses out. 

Our plan to boost Queensland’s rail and bus network will ensure every Queenslander has access to frequent, accessible services - and since it’d now cost the State government roughly the same to make public transport completely free as to continue paying for ticketing and enforcement, the Greens will also transition to fare-free public transport by 2026. 

The Greens will:

  • Create high frequency buses running every 10 minutes or better on major road corridors across Queensland, including 25 regional towns and cities
  • Put an extra $4 billion into new public transport infrastructure like rail, trams and bus lanes
  • Increase train service frequency in South-East Queensland to every 15 minutes or better, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.

Read our full plan for free and frequent public transport here.

All our plans are fully costed

The Greens’ policies are fully costed, and we will fund our plan by making big mining corporations finally pay their fair share of tax. 

Our plan creates short, medium and long-term sources of revenue including: