Wednesday, 19 November 2025

 Juliana ADDISON (Wendouree) (10:56): I am delighted to contribute on today’s committee reports to provide a report on the Legislative Assembly’s Environment and Planning Committee inquiry into the supply of homes in regional Victoria. I am delighted to see that some committee members are in the house today, including the member for Bass and the member for Narracan; although I do not agree with his previous contribution, I am delighted he is in the chamber at the moment.

As a proud regional Victorian, our inquiry into housing supply in rural and regional Victoria is not only close to home for me but an issue of great importance to communities in regional cities and towns across our great state. Across regional communities the alignment between housing supply and demand is increasingly unbalanced. I strongly believe our government must ensure that housing supply keeps pace with the momentum. The inquiry has shone a light on the evolving housing landscape in regional Victoria. With strong population growth, more families choosing to relocate from metro Melbourne to beautiful regional Victoria and changing household dynamics, the demand for housing, especially smaller homes close to services, is increasing.

On 2 December 2024 the Environment and Planning Committee resolved to inquire into this critical issue, and today, as chair, I tabled our final report, which contains 12 findings and 34 recommendations designed to address the housing challenges facing regional communities. This report would not have been possible without the strong cooperative approach by committee members from across the chamber. I would like to express my gratitude to my fellow committee members for their energetic and bipartisan approach to this inquiry. I wish to acknowledge and thank the deputy chair, the member for Morwell, for his great support and collaboration throughout the inquiry. We have been so fortunate to work closely and travel across the state with the members for Bass, Croydon, Monbulk, Narracan and Ripon. We know housing supply and housing insecurity are serious challenges in all our communities and share a belief in the solutions put forward in our report. Over the course of our inquiry we have had the opportunity to develop our understanding of the challenges of the supply of regional housing, learn from one another and, importantly, enjoy each other’s company. I am so grateful to the members of the committee for their diligent approach to this inquiry and for spending so much time on the road to hear the voices of stakeholders from across the state. We went from Horsham to Bairnsdale and from Warrnambool to Castlemaine, with stop-offs in Colac and Traralgon and of course Ballarat.

I would also like to acknowledge the professional advice and support provided by the committee secretariat throughout the inquiry. I would like to commend the great work of our committee managers Igor Dosen and Dr Marianna Stylianou following Igor’s departure to the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee, research officer Samantha Leahy and administrative officers Imogen Bacon and the returning Helen Ross-Soden.

I also want to acknowledge the input of our intern law student from Monash University Velika Kennedy for her contribution and research assistant Sarah Forbes. On behalf of the committee I genuinely thank you for your diligence and dedication to the inquiry, including research and evidence gathering, stakeholder management – including the committee – and report writing. We appreciate your outstanding support throughout our hearings, committee meetings and regional visits. Your assistance in uncovering evidence and developing a final report has been invaluable, and your patience with our unorthodox methods is most appreciated. I would like to acknowledge the member for Monbulk, who is in the Acting Speaker role at the moment and has played a fantastic role as well in our committee.

Throughout our inquiry we have explored the mix of housing forms needed to meet the needs of Victorians throughout their lives. We have investigated modern construction methods and ways to increase housing supply outside Melbourne. Through extensive site visits and public hearings across regional Victoria we saw firsthand the causes and consequences of high housing demand. I want to thank regional Victorians, local governments, builders and developers, community housing organisations, planning associations, professional bodies, academics and advocacy groups, who contributed more than 100 submissions to this inquiry. Your insights were invaluable. Regional Victoria is growing. We are vibrant and full of opportunity, but housing supply must keep pace with the demand for affordable homes. I thank everyone for their contribution.