Thursday, 26 May 2022

Housing shortage

Mr RIORDAN (Polwarth) (09:49): I rise this morning to put very clearly on the record the huge housing accessibility and affordability crisis that is gripping not only my electorate of Polwarth but the state of Victoria as a whole. This government for eight years has overseen a situation where despite its huge, overblown investment in infrastructure and services around Melbourne—we have seen a huge $24 billion waste and blowout cost to the Victorian taxpayers continue to grow—at the same time for the list of people waiting just to live in a home that is safe and affordable for them that has become less and less possible. In the electorate of Polwarth, where we have ample land and ample opportunity to provide homes for our residents, increasingly this is becoming less and less available.

For eight years now this government has turned a blind eye to the affordability issues along the Great Ocean Road and our coastal areas, where it is just no longer becoming possible for teachers, for policemen, for nursing staff and for people who work in our cafes and restaurants to actually be able to live in the communities where they are expected to work. This is a massive problem that, despite the government’s rhetoric and its claims of big spending, sees the situation where people now are waiting 16½ months on the government waiting list just to get a home to live in. This is simply not good enough. There has been a doubling of the waiting time since this government has been in power. It needs to change, and a better, much more creative government is needed if we are going to recover and rebuild here in Victoria.