2023-05-17
The Victorian Labor Government has voted down a Greens’ motion to hold a parliamentary inquiry into the state’s worsening rental crisis, showing utter contempt for the countless Victorians struggling to find a secure and affordable rental.
Despite the Greens, Legalise Cannabis, the Animal Justice Party, and the Opposition all in support of the inquiry, it was blocked by Labor in the Upper House who sided with the right-wing members of the cross-bench.
Right now, rents are rising four times faster than wages and renters are lining up for blocks just to get into inspections.
The average rent in Melbourne rose to $450 dollars a week in the December quarter, with apartment rentals in the city up by roughly 20 per cent year-on-year.
There is currently no relief in sight, with rents tipped to rise another 11.5 per cent across Victoria over 2023.
The Greens’ proposed inquiry would have put the problems and the solutions squarely in front of the Government, and compelled them to act.
Victorian Greens renters’ rights spokesperson, Gabrielle de Vietri, said the Government’s decision to vote down the motion was a slap in the face to renters across the state who were one rent rise away from eviction, or homelessness.
She added that if the Government kept denying there was a rental crisis, it would only get worse.
Quotes attributable to Victorian Greens renters’ rights spokesperson, Gabrielle de Vietri MP:
“Today the Victorian Labor Government turned their back on renters.
“We’re seeing retired women sleeping in cars, and families with school kids living in tents.
“I’ve heard from renters that are struggling with rent hikes of $200 per week.
“Yet rather than find the solutions to help them, this Government has sided with the property industry and the right-wing crossbench to stall any meaningful reform.
“Throughout the debate the Government spouted their credentials on rental reform, but how are those reforms helping the one in three renters who are struggling to keep their heads above water? We need less hot air from this Government, who clearly couldn’t give two shits about renters in this state, and more action.”