Wednesday, 18 June 2025

Department of Treasury and Finance

Budget papers 2025–26

Wendy LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (17:19): I rise to speak on the state budget 2025–26, and it raises the budget for the housing portfolio. What I want to speak about is the failure of this government when it comes to waiting lists for the housing portfolio. We have seen the public housing waiting list rise since December 2014, when there were 34,320 families on it – and I know I was the minister at the time. I actually reduced that from the 41,212 that I inherited, but I still felt 34,320 families waiting for a home in Victoria was way too many. Unfortunately, under this government, we have seen a 61 per cent increase in that list – up to 55,553 families are now waiting for housing. And I am being a little bit generous here; I am not including the transfer list, which would take it to 66,117, because those families are already housed even though they may be inappropriately housed or need to be moved for medical reasons.

The real shock comes when you look at priority housing. Priority housing is for people who are homeless or at risk of recurring homelessness, people who are escaping domestic violence, people who are living with a disability and people who have special housing needs. This list has increased from 9625 families in December 2014 to now 30,209 families. These are the most vulnerable families in Victoria, and there are 30,209 of them languishing on this waiting list – a 213.8 per cent increase under this government, but this government does not care.

The figures get worse when you look at regional Victoria. In my area in the Loddon area there were 1089 families on the waiting list in 2014. That is now 7238, which is a 564 per cent increase. For early housing, the priority housing for those who are most vulnerable, there were 354 in 2014. There are now 4542 families – a 1183 per cent increase. In the Mallee region there were 707 families on the total waiting list, and there are now 2733 – a 286 per cent increase. For priority housing there were 188 families in 2014. In March 2025 there were 1539 families – that is a 718 per cent increase. In the Goulburn region, which includes Shepparton, there were 745 families on the waiting list in 2014. That is now 4487 – a 502 per cent increase. There were 159 families seeking priority housing in 2014. There are now 2716 – a 1608 per cent increase. And in the Ovens Murray area in 2014 there were 807 families on the total waitlist. That is now 3415 families – a 323 per cent increase. The real shock here is once again the list for priority housing applicants, which has risen from 185 in 2014 to now 2100 families in 2025 – a 1035 per cent increase.

What we can see from this is the government is completely failing when it comes to housing the most vulnerable people in the state and that it particularly gets worse in regional areas. The government just do not see beyond the edge of Melbourne. They do not care about regional areas. They are failing our farmers when it comes to drought support. They are failing our farmers when it comes to the emergency services tax. And they are failing the most vulnerable families in regional communities – people escaping domestic violence, people who are homeless or at risk of recurring homelessness, those with special housing needs, those living with a disability. These people, these families, are languishing on the public housing waiting list, and this government does not care.