Greens senator Barbara Pocock has spoken on the rental affordability crisis:
Australia is in a national housing crisis that is spiralling out of control and renters are paying the price. People on low and moderate incomes, who can’t afford to buy a home, are facing extreme rental stress. Essential workers – teachers, nurses and police – can’t afford to live near where they work.
Across Australia, we’re seeing a rental market that is unaffordable. With vacancy rates at record lows, the rental market is so tight that landlords can hike prices leaving renters with nowhere else to go. That’s exactly why the Government needs to introduce rent caps – to stop profiteering and give people a fighting chance.
The problem is that successive governments have created a housing system where rich property investors get billions in tax discounts to buy multiple properties, while millions of others can’t even find an affordable rental, let alone buy a house of their own. It’s no wonder 89 per cent of Australians agree we’re in a housing crisis.
The Government’s $181 billion tax breaks for wealthy investors – via the capital gains tax discount and negative gearing – are locking out first home buyers and forcing rents to skyrocket.
Without tackling the root causes of the housing crisis, Labor’s policies, such as their 5% deposit scheme, are pushing property prices up further – locking even more people out of affordable rentals and home ownership. That includes essential workers, such as nurses and teachers, who are already struggling to afford homes near their workplaces.
This government needs to start treating housing as a human right instead of a game of monopoly. Rather than giving billions of tax breaks to wealthy property investors, the Government should be investing directly into building good quality homes and renting them to people who need them at prices they can actually afford.”
1 Comment
The Greens are the only party taking the rental crisis seriously. They have been the only party consistently pushing for action. Without a rental cap much, if not most, of Labor's rent assistance is swallowed up by landlords raising the rent. That is, Labor's rent assistance is just a handout to landlords.
Renters have virtually dropped out of the national conversation since the election. Australia lost two very good representatives in Max Chandler-Mathers and Adam Bandt.
Australia has approaching 4 million people living in poverty, one in 3 Australians face food insecurity; this is totally unacceptable for a wealthy nation. Labor does next to nothing about this and bleats there isn't the money while it hollows out hospitals and the CSIRO and can find plenty of money for defence or rugby football clubs.