MEDIA RELEASE - 9 May 2018

Budget 2018 dismisses housing crisis but Senate demands action

The 2018 Budget contained no new measures to significantly improve housing affordability or security. But today the Senate has passed a Greens/ALP motion calling for a desperately needed increase in funding for social housing and homelessness services, and to ensure renters’ rights are protected.

MEDIA RELEASE - 30 April 2018

Anglicare rental affordability survey shows action needed for Illawarra region

The Anglicare Australia Rental Affordability Snapshot has found there were no properties surveyed in the whole Illawarra region affordable for a single person on Newstart or Youth Allowance, even in a share house. For a couple on the minimum wage with two young children and associated tax benefits and the parenting payment, only 4% of surveyed properties were affordable. For a couple on a pension, it was only 3%.

MEDIA RELEASE - 30 April 2018

Anglicare rental affordability survey shows housing action needed for Hunter region

Responding to Anglicare’s latest Rental Affordability Snapshot the Greens have put forward their homes for all plan as the solution to the Hunter’s housing crisis.

Greens Treasury spokesperson, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, has reiterated calls for investment property to be treated as a financial product in the wake of the 4 Corners report on the state of the housing market in Australia.

Senator Whish-Wilson said, “Australia’s housing market is a debt-fuelled bubble driven primarily by tax breaks to investors. This is distorting the entire economy, creating enormous financial risk, and pushing the price of housing out of the reach of young people.

NOTICE OF MOTION

Mr President

We give notice that on the next day of sitting we will move -

That the Senate –

The Greens Treasury spokesperson, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, provides the following comments on the release of HILDAs The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey.

Senator Whish-Wilson said, “These survey findings won’t be a surprise for young people but they should be a wake-up call for the Government.

“These figures are catastrophic. No matter how hard young people are working or how much time they are putting into study, the ability of a young person to own their own home is slipping away.

The Greens have responded to reports of a private developer's plans for the former defence land along the Maribyrnong River, saying this is a typical Turnbull government move to deliver massive profits to big developers, with zero input from the community and no clear plan for fixing our housing affordability crisis.

Labor has damaged their credibility and raised doubts about their response to the housing crisis by running a scare campaign about the impact “foreigners” are having on housing prices, the Greens housing spokesperson Senator Lee Rhiannon said today.

“It’s disappointing that Labor have continued the xenophobic tactics of the Turnbull government by scapegoating ‘foreigners’ in their housing announcement today,” Senator Rhiannon said.

One of the biggest failures of the Turnbull government is shaping up to be their inability to ensure all Australians have access to secure affordable housing, Greens housing spokesperson Senator Lee Rhiannon said in response to reports that the National Affordable Housing Agreement (NAHA) will be scrapped in the May Budget.

“Winding up the $9 billion National Affordable Housing Agreement will push more people into homelessness and lock people out of secure housing,” Senator Rhiannon said.