Tuesday, 18 November 2025

 Ellen SANDELL (Melbourne) (13:10): All across the world renters are making their voices heard. For too long renters have had to struggle to make ends meet with skyrocketing rents while governments tip the scales in favour of developers and investors. But now renters are demanding that housing finally be treated like a human right, and around the world things are finally starting to change. Los Angeles City Council has just introduced a maximum rent increase of 4 per cent per year, the Scottish Parliament has just voted for long-term rent controls and in New York City Zohran Mamdani campaigned to freeze rents and New Yorkers have voted him in. Things are changing because renters started organising and started demanding better. Yet here in Victoria unlimited rent increases are still legal, and people are suffering.

The Greens recently ran a survey and heard some absolute horror stories. Colette’s rent was jacked up by $157 a month. If you think that is bad, Imogen’s went up by $563 a month. Alex’s rent went up by a massive $640 a month. Their bathroom floor is collapsing, but they live in fear of getting another increase in rent as retaliation if they dare to ask for repairs. We heard countless stories like this.

Everyone deserves to be able to afford a home. Politicians who are smart enough to listen should realise that when young people and working people are priced out of a city, the city suffers. But when they can live in their city – (Time expired)