Housing
Ellen SANDELL (Melbourne) (14:24): My question is to the new Premier. Firstly, Premier, congratulations on your appointment. Premier, in your first press conference you said that housing is the biggest issue facing Victorians right now, yet in Labor’s recent housing statement this government ruled out rent freezes or capping rent rises in any way, meaning renters have no protections from unlimited rent rises every single year. Sixteen European countries already have some form of rent control. Will the new Premier change direction and put rent control back on the agenda?
Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:25): I thank the member for Melbourne for her question and her generous comments at the commencement of her question. I will have to say directly to the member for Melbourne the answer is no: we will not be reconsidering the policy position as articulated in the last couple of weeks. The answer is because we have looked around the world, we have looked in other jurisdictions and the evidence shows that they do not work. They only seem to drive down the opportunities for renters to find a property. That is why in the housing statement there is a range of additional reforms that build on the rental reforms from a few years ago, when there were 130 reforms to support renters rights in Victoria. We are building on those reforms with a particular focus on supporting renters who are experiencing renter stress. The key way to supporting renters is to increase housing supply, and that is why in the housing statement – as part of that effort to build 80,000 homes a year, each and every year, for the next 10 years – there is also a focus on supporting more build-to-rent projects. The industry indicates very clearly that Melbourne is the build-to-rent capital of the nation, and the work that is being done by the planning minister, by the Treasurer and by the precincts minister is about driving more of those sorts of housing developments so that we can give renters the opportunity to have more housing supply for them to go and have a roof over their heads.
Ellen SANDELL (Melbourne) (14:26): I think we will find that rent controls do work. Many European countries have already introduced them, and on the question of supply we currently have more dwellings per adult than ever before in our history. We are building at a faster rate than most other OECD countries, and yet affordability is still at an all-time low and recent figures show rents in Melbourne went up 18 per cent last year. More supply is not going to solve this alone, and certainly not fast enough. We need some other form of relief for renters who are doing it tough right now, who are choosing between putting food on the table, putting food on the table for their kids or having somewhere to sleep every single night. Renters are under immense stress so, Premier, why not put some relief on the table? Why not put rent controls back on the table?
Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:27): As I indicated in the answer to the substantive question from the member for Melbourne, we have looked at the evidence, and what the member is proposing does not work. The issue that is causing rental increases is an issue of supply, which is why we have released a strong reform program that is about building more homes and also making sure there is more mix in the types of homes that are being built, from build-to-rent to public, social and affordable housing and to the private market as well. That is what we are focused on, not on initiatives that have a good political catchcry but actually do not deliver the outcomes. I say this to the member for Melbourne and her colleagues: we really hope that we can work together to support more housing developments, not block them. The best way to increase housing supply, the best way to support renters, is to build more homes and not block the housing developments that are being proposed.