Tuesday, 17 February 2026

 John BERGER (Southern Metropolitan) (17:45): (2307) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Planning in the other place. As we all know, the Allan Labor government is taking the challenge of housing affordability more seriously than any other state or territory government in the country. Here in Victoria, more homes have been approved and built than in any other state. This did not happen by accident; this happened because of responsible decisions made by this government to increase housing supply and build the necessary infrastructure to support the growing population. We are doing so by making the best use of public sector, private sector and not-for-profit sector resources to do so. One of the policies which is particularly benefiting my constituency is the introduction of the new train and tram zone activity centres, which will better facilitate the construction of new housing in established suburbs. This will help young people who grew up in council areas such as Stonnington, Boroondara, Glen Eira and Bayside to be able to afford to rent or buy a house close to where they grew up. Other responsible policies such as build to rent, tax concessions and the development facilitation program are further encouraging new development in places which need more homes. The action that I seek is for the minister to provide me an update on how many homes have been approved for construction in the Southern Metropolitan Region in the last 12 months.