Lines attributable to Max Chandler-Mather MP, Greens spokesperson for housing and homelessness:
Over the last five years the private sector built just under 1 million homes, so Labor announcing that under their plans the private sector will build 1 million homes over five years from 2024 is a complete joke. These homes would have been built anyway.
The “Housing Accord” looks like a complete con job. Planning deregulation and handouts to the private sector to build housing won’t fix the housing crisis, any more than any housing tax breaks or planning deregulation has in the past.
The Treasurer couldn’t even bring himself to call them “affordable”, instead calling them “well located homes”. But what we need is public, community and actually affordable homes, not more profit for property developers.
In reality, the only extra thing Labor has announced is $350 million for 10,000, so-called affordable homes over 5 years, all the rest is smoke and mirrors. Even the $350 million announcement seems dodgy given this amounts to $35,000 per home, so I’d love to know what building contractor they’ve spoken to”
Meanwhile Labor’s already announced Housing Australia Future Fund will only fund the construction of 20,000 public and community homes over five years, which will literally see the shortage of public housing grow to 590,000 homes as the build won’t even keep up with increasing demand”
With no substantial investment in public housing, no plans to scrap negative gearing and no plans to freeze rents, what Labor is proposing is the status quo and that’s what got us in the housing crisis in the first place.”
What we actually need is government investment in one million well designed public and community homes, a freeze on rents, and an end to negative gearing and capital gains discounts that drive up the cost of housing.