Adam Bandt (Melbourne, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. During the pandemic national cabinet discussed rents and rents were frozen in parts of the country. Research today shows almost two-thirds of renters, about two million households, are in financial stress and that financial pressures are greater today than during COVID or the GFC. You've said that national cabinet will be discussing renters' rights, so will Labor at the same time organise a national rent freeze and caps on increases, or does Labor think there should be no limit on high rents can go?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the leader of the Greens for his question. What I think is that we shouldn't pretend that things can happen in order for the convenience of negotiations to say, 'Yeah, we'll go away and we'll disagree that I speak on behalf of eight state and territory governments who all have advice, because we have discussed this, that a freeze on rents would make housing supply worse and that housing supply is the major issue that we have to deal with.' So what I'm concerned about doing is making sure that we do what we can in a practical way to make a difference to renters' rights. I've put that on the agenda at the national cabinet. That will remain on the agenda because I understand that people in my electorate and in other electorates are struggling. I understand those issues very well, and that's why it's on the agenda for the national cabinet.

The party that the member leads nationally is a part of government here in the ACT, in coalition, that has ministers. I haven't seen any of those ministers out there who actually hold a position to support a rent freeze—none, none. Your question went to a rent freeze. A rent freeze is what you've argued for. And you've argued that somehow the Commonwealth can speak on behalf of eight sovereign governments when that simply is just not the case. At the same time as the member for Melbourne is putting forward things that can't be delivered, something that can be delivered is the Housing Australia Future Fund. It's stuck over there because your party is voting with this party, the Liberals and the Nationals, to block 30,000 additional social and affordable housing units. It can be voted on this afternoon. All it requires is for you to have the same goodwill that, frankly, Senator Pocock, Senator Lambie and Senator Tyrrell have in examining what is required in recognising that this is an important way through.

There are other things we can do in housing without this parliament, and we are working on doing those things. The member for Melbourne wants to exclude himself and empower the coalition to block social housing, the party that's never really supported public housing in this country, then that's fine. But when you associate with them— (Time expired)