Thursday, 19 February 2026

 Gabrielle DE VIETRI (Richmond) (14:27): My question is for the Premier. Premier, does this government support unlimited rent increases being legal here in Victoria?

 Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:27): When it comes to supporting renters and when it comes to supporting renters to manage the affordability of being able to access a rental property, building more homes is the answer, not blocking the building of those homes, like the member for Richmond did when she was formerly a councillor at the City of Yarra.

Ellen Sandell: On a point of order, Speaker, the Premier knows that question time is not an opportunity to attack other members of the Parliament.

The SPEAKER: This ruling is about attacking the current opposition, it is not about comparing local government or what members did prior to coming into this place.

Jacinta ALLAN: I want to commend the work of the Minister for Consumer Affairs, because we have been implementing a number of rental reforms that are about supporting renters. As I said, a big part of supporting renters is being able to support renters to find a property, and that is how you make renting more affordable. But of course I think the member for Richmond might already know that there is a lot of research around this, and there is a lot of research that shows that policy changes that apply long-term freezes to rental increases, like the Greens political party have proposed, may negatively impact the supply of housing in the private rental market. We will continue to be focused on supporting renters – not blocking the building of new homes, like the member for Richmond has done previously, teaming up with the Liberal Party to not support important planning reforms – and getting on and building more homes.

Ellen Sandell: On a point of order, Speaker, responses are supposed to be factual, and the Premier is misleading the house. It is not actually factual, what she has said.

The SPEAKER: That is not a point of order. The Premier has concluded her answer.

 Gabrielle DE VIETRI (Richmond) (14:29): I would agree with the Minister for Consumer Affairs that those reforms secured with the Greens are really, really, really important. But the reality of what I am hearing from renters is that they are still absolutely drowning in rent rises and relying on the goodwill of a landlord not to put the rent up, because they can just jack it up however much they like.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! I could not hear a word the member for Richmond was saying. Members will come to order. Member for Richmond, ask your supplementary question again.

Gabrielle DE VIETRI: In the last five years rents have gone up 2.5 times faster than wages and way, way higher than inflation. It is the same across the country, except in the ACT, where the Greens secured rent controls, just like in 16 different European countries. So the question is: will this government introduce rent controls to stop rents from going up so much faster than wages?

 Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:30): It was a little difficult to hear or decipher the question in that statement that was just made to the house. I again refer to evidence that has been provided in the public domain. The Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute has released a report recently that finds rent freezes are likely to negatively impact the supply of rental housing. We will continue to be guided by the evidence. We will continue to focus on those areas of reform that back in renters and, most importantly, get on and build more homes. More homes is how you support renters. You do not support them by standing up and making wild claims in the house here. You do not support renters by blocking the building of more homes when you are in local government. You back renters by building more homes and supporting them with reforms that give them the quality of life they deserve.