South-Eastern Metropolitan Region
Rachel PAYNE (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:51): (88) My constituency question is for the Minister for Housing. My constituent is a university student currently seeking to move closer to her campus in Dandenong to continue her studies. After two months of searching and competing with hundreds of low-income earners for rental properties, she has realised that the affordable rental situation is dire in Dandenong. She has stressed that she will either have to be pushed into accommodation she cannot realistically afford or, like some of her other student friends, have to commute for hours and hours daily from more affordable regional Victorian locations. She asks the minister: what steps are being taken to ensure that there is a steadier supply of affordable rental housing in the Dandenong area, particularly for students?