Thursday, 20 February 2025

 Gabrielle DE VIETRI (Richmond) (14:32): My question is for the Premier. Premier, media reports have revealed this week that even federal and state Labor MPs have publicly declared that the plan to demolish and privatise all 44 of Victoria’s public housing towers does not stack up, describing it as the former Premier’s thought bubble. One Labor minister has even revealed that the demolition plan was not actually discussed at any cabinet meeting before the announcement. They said that if it had been raised, it would have been debated. Premier, was the decision to demolish the public housing towers actually discussed at cabinet before it was announced?

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! I had trouble hearing the member for Richmond. I need to ask the Premier if she heard the question.

 Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:32): It is all right; I heard enough. The answer to the member’s question is yes, and the response to the premise in the question is that this is about investing in more social and affordable and community and public housing for Victorians, particularly for the most vulnerable Victorians, who need their government building them more new, modern homes. It is a stark contrast to the campaign of misleading activism by the member for Richmond, which is not about supporting those people with truthful, factual information but is all for a base political purpose, which we resoundingly reject while we get on and deliver more modern housing for some of our most vulnerable Victorians.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Member for Laverton, you can leave the chamber for an hour.

Member for Laverton withdrew from chamber.

 Gabrielle DE VIETRI (Richmond) (14:33): Premier, residents are being forced to move out right now and demolition is imminent, but there is no actual plan for what might be built there and no guarantee from the Labor government that there will be any public housing at all at 42 of the 44 sites. Let me make this very clear for the Premier: I am talking about public housing, not social, not community, not so-called affordable and not private housing – genuinely government-owned, government-operated public housing capped at 25 per cent of a tenant’s income. Can the Premier tell us right now: excluding Carlton, will there be any public housing on the remaining 42 sites?

 Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:34): Putting aside the litany of deliberately misleading and unfactual information in the member’s question – talk about patterns of behaviour and performative stunts; this question is littered with inaccuracies that are all designed to mislead people in our community who deserve better than this from leaders in this place, people who should be getting better than they are getting from the member for Richmond. In answer to the question, this program is about both adding to the overall number of homes built in this state and including at least 10 per cent more social housing for people who need governments investing in more housing for them and their families.

Gabrielle de Vietri: On a point of order, on relevance, Speaker, my question was specifically about public housing, not social housing.

The SPEAKER: The Premier has concluded her answer.