Rental support
Richard WELCH (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (18:00): (801) The action I am seeking is from the Minister for Housing. On Friday I spent the morning speaking to locals in my electorate at Blackburn station about the cost-of-living crisis – these are everyday Victorians commuting to their nine-to-five jobs on the train. These constituents raised concerns, including rental prices, gas prices and electricity prices across Melbourne. Their worries are not unfounded. In metropolitan Melbourne there has been an increase of 15.8 per cent in rental prices in the year to September 2023 and a further 27 per cent in just the last year. Meanwhile the same report, the Homes Victoria rental report, showed that in my electorate of North-Eastern Metropolitan Region we saw an increase of 17.9 per cent in rental prices across the same period for the region.
Over the last year electricity prices went up 28 per cent and gas prices went up 22 per cent, so families are struggling, they are hurting, and the cost-of-living crisis is a real one in my region. But to exacerbate all of this we have the destructive concept of the Suburban Rail Loop planning to destroy housing in the area long before the replacement property speculation rebuilds new residences, so there can only be further upward pressure on those rentals. So the action I seek from the minister is: can he commit to my constituents that he will be taking action so that rents will come down in this term of government?