Public housing
Aiv PUGLIELLI (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (17:45): (301) My adjournment matter tonight is to the Minister for Housing. Minister, I call on you to commit to building true public housing and the premise that housing is a human right. Federally your counterparts have a housing plan that is primarily a gamble on the stock market, with some improvements in actual funds now committed thanks to the work of the Greens. We have seen Labor’s proposed federal policy platform seek to remove the acknowledgement that housing is a human right – baffling – while at the Victorian Labor conference you were trying to include more frankly Green policies: regulating Airbnb, inclusion rezoning, affordable housing for young people, anyone. It feels like the Labor government has lost its ambition when it comes to housing. Here in Victoria Labor is walking – almost running – away from public housing. They most of the time refuse to even use that term now and are instead going into business with private developers and organisations to deliver housing as a commodity rather than a human necessity, and all this at a time when there is no doubt that we are in a housing crisis.
Victorians need this Labor government to step up and take action to address this crisis, and I know they will tell anyone that listens about the money they have invested as part of their big build. But this big build by name has mainly just delivered big contracts to private companies. As far as new housing goes, we have only had a net increase of 74 social homes over the last four years. What an embarrassment. People are struggling, the public housing waiting list is ever increasing and more and more people are sleeping rough, couch surfing or living in their cars. We all know that renting is cooked. Just this week we have seen the Labor government dragged kicking and screaming to set up a housing task force after negotiating with the Greens to pass legislation. We are happy to hold you to account but, please, it should not be this difficult. Labor, Victorians need you to do better. People need access to safe, secure and affordable housing. We need you to commit to housing as a human right. Please and thank you.