Thursday, 2 April 2026

 Ellen SANDELL (Melbourne) (14:24): My question is to the Premier. Premier, over the last five years in Victoria rents have risen twice as fast as wages, but right now in Victoria, if a renter receives an excessive rent rise, under Labor’s system they have to do all the work to challenge it. I have one constituent, for example, whose landlord tries to raise the rent 10 to 20 per cent every single year, and every single year she has to do all the work to challenge it. Premier, instead of putting renters through this onerous process, why not just reverse the onus and simply cap how much rents can go up by, like they did in the ACT and 16 European countries?

 Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:25): I thank the member for Melbourne for her question. I am not sure if the member for Melbourne was in the chamber on Tuesday when this question was asked, I think by the member for Brunswick to the Minister for Consumer Affairs, so as part of my answer I refer to the Hansard of Tuesday and the Minister for Consumer Affairs’ answer.

Ellen Sandell: On a point of order, Speaker, it was an entirely different question. That was about a rental matter, but an entirely different rental matter.

The SPEAKER: The Premier will come back to the question.

Jacinta ALLAN: Again I refer to the Minister for Consumer Affairs’ answer. But we on this side of the house have been focused on recognising that renters need to have a fairer go when it comes to renting properties here in Victoria. You do that by building more homes and getting more homes into the market, and that is one area that we are delivering change.

Also I have here a long list of rental reforms that have been delivered by our Labor government that are supporting renters: banning of no-fault evictions; introducing the portable bond scheme, which has been a big help for renters, making sure they are not out of pocket; there is the work that we have done to ban rental bidding completely; making rental applications easier; and tougher penalties for real estate agents and sellers who break the law. I am sure the member for Melbourne would like me to continue by talking about giving regulators more power to stop excessive rent increases, enforcing minimum standards at the point of advertising, not just at the point when the tenant gets handed over the keys to the property, and banning owners and real estate agents from charging extra fees when you pay your own rent or apply for a property.

That is just a snapshot – the list is a lot longer – of how we have been working hard, recognising that there needed to be reforms to the system to give renters a fairer go. It is why we have had a Renting Taskforce, it is why we have set up Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria, which has been successful in supporting renters, and it is why we will continue to support renters with that principle point of getting more homes built here in Victoria.

 Ellen SANDELL (Melbourne) (14:28): Premier, you recently attended a party at billionaire Anthony Pratt’s mansion in Kew – Anthony Pratt of course being a well-known donor to the Labor Party and also to Donald Trump. Premier, you have been there, so how many spare bedrooms does Anthony Pratt have at his mansion that could be rented out to young people during this housing crisis instead of being used to wine and dine Labor and Liberal politicians?

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! No-one could hear the question, member for Melbourne. Could you repeat the end of the question. I do remind you, member for Melbourne, that your questions must relate to government business.

Ellen SANDELL: Premier, as the leader of this government, you have been to Anthony Pratt’s mansion, so how many spare bedrooms does he have at his mansion that could be rented out to young people during a housing crisis instead of being used to wine and dine Labor and Liberal politicians?

The SPEAKER: I do not uphold the question. It does not relate. I rule the question out of order.