Housing
Sarah MANSFIELD (Western Victoria) (12:36): (1044) My question is for the minister for housing. Low-income residents in what the government is promoting as affordable housing units on government-owned land in Flemington received a significant rent increase one year after moving in, making these rentals more expensive than average private rentals in the same area. Can the minister rule out further significant rent rises in these developments?
Harriet SHING (Eastern Victoria – Minister for the Suburban Rail Loop, Minister for Housing and Building, Minister for Development Victoria and Precincts) (12:36): Thank you very much, Dr Mansfield, for that question. At the outset I do want to acknowledge the importance of making housing available to people who are under financial pressure or distress. This is something that I think we will not have any disagreement on around this house, and I just want to make sure that we are also very clear about the settings that apply for affordable housing under the Planning and Environment Act. As you would know, Homes Victoria is engaging with the project partner, Building Communities, in relation to this matter, and we are working with Building Communities to apply discounted rent alongside Consumer Affairs Victoria to all renters at the affordable housing at this site. There is an approach that is being developed around future market rental evaluations and assessments of rental rates for these homes, but it is really important to emphasise that the high-rise redevelopment program will deliver a 10 per cent increase in social housing alone across these sites, including a 39 per cent increase across North Melbourne and Flemington in the tranche 1 sites. On top of this, hundreds of affordable and market rental homes will be delivered across the tranche 1 locations, and we know that where more housing is made available, that puts downward pressure on rental prices, and we are seeing a slower increase in rental prices across Victoria as compared to other parts of Australia. Rental affordability is better here, as far as average figures are concerned, than it is in other parts of the nation. We are developing the mixed tenure model that will not only deliver more housing but also deliver affordable housing for, for example, key workers in those inner-city locations. The challenge that we have here, though, is that the Greens and the Liberals continue to oppose and to block social and affordable housing.
Sarah Mansfield: President, I have got two points of order, actually. One is that the question was very narrow. It was: can the minister rule out further significant rent rises in these developments? It has taken off on another tangent. And the second is the minister is once again using this to make political points. I did not say anything partisan in my very brief preamble or in the question.
Harriet SHING: I am talking about the availability of housing. You want housing, but you cannot build it.
The PRESIDENT: I call the minister back to the question.
Harriet SHING: As I had said before the point of order was raised, the more housing that we bring online, the more affordable it becomes. Where we create supply, we are reducing pressure on demand, which then places downward pressure on prices. This is basic economic theory that in fact we are seeing play out because of the better affordability, because of availability, here in Victoria. Were the Greens and the Liberals to stop blocking and opposing the delivery of more housing in those areas of the city where we know it can and should be delivered, we would then see that we would be able to continue with that work and that trajectory. So we are continuing to work alongside Building Communities and Consumer Affairs Victoria. It is an uncomfortable truth for many people in this chamber to recognise the fact that if you stop blocking and opposing we will be able to continue building and delivering.
Sarah MANSFIELD (Western Victoria) (12:40): I do not think the minister has answered my question, which was to rule out further significant rent rises in these developments. I think the uncomfortable truth is actually that, for these residents, their rents have gone up substantially and they are no longer able to potentially afford to live in these so-called affordable housing units. This rent hike, as you stated, was set by the Building Communities Consortium, the same group that is redeveloping the towers across the road under the ground lease model. They took the first chance to drive the rents up, and residents are saying that if this keeps happening they will be forced out. Minister, if a private consortium sets the rents on government land and pushes them to the maximum, can you guarantee that this sort of housing that is replacing the towers will be affordable and secure and will remain so?
Harriet SHING (Eastern Victoria – Minister for the Suburban Rail Loop, Minister for Housing and Building, Minister for Development Victoria and Precincts) (12:41): Thank you very much for that supplementary. Again, the way in which you have posed that supplementary contains at its heart your aversion to – and the Liberals’ aversions to – development of mixed-tenure housing across those areas of inner Melbourne, where we know that –
Sarah Mansfield: On a point of order, President, the minister says it contained at its heart an aversion to housing. There is nothing in what I said that is an aversion to housing. I ask the minister just to answer the question, which was a very simple one: can you guarantee that the housing replacing these towers will remain affordable? It has nothing about blocking housing.
The PRESIDENT: I will call the minister back to the question.
Harriet Shing: But you do block housing. The Greens and the Liberals team up to block housing. You have done it in this place, you did it in Canberra, you have done it in local council chambers and you continue to do it in opposing the towers redevelopment program to triple the density of housing across these sites –
Sarah Mansfield: On a point of order, President, once again I think the minister is talking about issues that are unrelated to my question. She is making partisan political points, which I understand is not the purpose of question time. I have asked a very simple question and I would appreciate if the minister could address the question.
The PRESIDENT: On the point of order, there are a number of rulings that answering a question does not give a minister an opportunity to attack the opposition. I think we will broaden that: it is not a minister’s opportunity to attack non-government MLCs that ask a question. I will uphold that part of the point of order and I will call the minister back to the question.
Harriet SHING: Thank you very much. The settings are difficult for us to continue with in light of persistent opposition. I will leave that as a general remark and let the voting records for the chambers in this place, in Canberra and in local council chambers to stand for themselves. Discounted rental rates will be applied to all tenants at the Victoria Street property in line with a Consumer Affairs Victoria ruling, and as I indicated in the answer to your principal question, we are actively working through an approach to rental assessments at this site with Building Communities going forward.