After a sustained Greens campaign of doorknocking in Labor seats across the country, Labor MPs are feeling the pressure to take meaningful action on the housing crisis, pushing the party to adopt the Greens housing policies to restrict negative gearing to one investment property and revisit capital gain tax concessions.

Adopting the Greens policy to phase out negative gearing and interest deductions for people with more than one investment property and scrap the capital gains tax discount for investment properties would raise $74 billion over the next decade, which the government could use to fund the construction of 225,000 publicly owned homes over the next decade and establish a rent freeze housing fund for state governments to implement rent controls and purchase existing properties for affordable housing.

The Greens are pushing for phasing out negative gearing and mortgage interest deductibility for landlords with more than one investment property over the next 5 years, along with scrapping the 50% capital gain tax discount, to be replaced with indexation of the asset cost.

Lines attributable to Max Chandler-Mather, Greens Spokesperson on Housing and Homelessness:

Now even Labor MPs and members are pushing for Labor to adopt the Greens housing policy including phasing out negative gearing.

Labor’s centrepiece housing policy doesn’t guarantee a cent in funding for housing and does nothing for renters, and now even Labor MPs and members are saying Labor has to do more, so I’m calling on the Prime Minister to come to the table to work out a real plan to tackle the housing crisis. 

Renters and people waiting for social housing can’t wait until after the next election in 2025, they need action right now, and the Greens are ready and willing to negotiate a plan to invest billions of dollars in public and affordable housing right now and coordinate an emergency national freeze on rent increases.

After the Treasurer declined to rule out adopting the Greens plan to offer incentives to the states to introduce a rent freeze, and today's revolt by Labor members, surely the Prime Minister must realise now is the time to act on behalf of the millions of renters in desperate need of support.

Rather than spending $74 billion over the next 10 years on handouts to property moguls, the government should be offering incentives to the states to freeze rent increases and guarantee at least $5 billion a year in funding for public and genuinely affordable housing. 

Labor MPs are clearly starting to feel the pressure, and my message to every Labor MP is the Greens will keep knocking on doors until your government actually begins to negotiate in good faith with the Greens to work out a plan to tackle the housing crisis. 

Beyond the Housing Australia Future Fund bill, we’re pushing to phase out tax concessions for property moguls that artificially inflate house prices and turbo charge inequality, funnelling tens of billions of dollars into the pockets of the top 10% of income earners in Australia.

Negative gearing and capital gains mean it is often easier for a property investor to buy their fifth house, rather than someone to buy their first home, and that’s deeply unfair.