Thursday, 9 March 2023

Housing crisis

Richard RIORDAN (Polwarth) (09:53): I wish to draw the house’s attention to the Victorian Big Housing Build, which the government has trumpeted much about over the last couple of years. It is an important concept, getting more social housing into the market to help with our housing and home crisis here in Victoria, but I draw the attention of the house to the most recent figures that the government has been prepared to publish, and they are not very recent at all; they are in fact from June last year, which is an indictment on the management of Homes Victoria in its own right.

We have seen in Victoria up to $2.8 billion being spent and some 2000 homes allegedly built. The net increase in social housing in Victoria is 74 homes – 74 homes in five years. That is all this government has been able to contribute to the desperate needs of some 36,223 people who are now languishing on a priority waiting list for somewhere to sleep each night. This list has increased from 33,245. We are gaining 3000 people a year on the priority waiting list, and yet this government after five years has only been able to produce 74 extra homes in the system here in Victoria. This simply is not good enough. It is adding greatly to the crisis. This government needs to start acting, stop talking and get on with the job of creating homes for Victorians.