Barbara Pocock (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak about the housing crisis. In the past year, rents around Australia have risen between seven and 14 per cent—in a single year. That's two to four times the rate of increase in wages in that same year. How are renters meant to keep up when their rents are growing two, three or even four times as fast as their incomes? It's even worse for low-income households. A hospitality worker living in a one-bedroom unit in Sydney, Perth, Brisbane or the ACT spends nearly half their income on rent. People on JobSeeker who have been forced into the private rental market, due to a lack of public and social housing, simply cannot afford these rents.

Most renters have a landlord who owns two or more properties and whose household wealth is more than double their own. Why are we prioritising these wealthy landlords over hardworking renters—60 per cent of these renters don't think they will ever be able to own their own home. We've consistently put the needs of an elite few above the needs of the majority. In the last two decades, we have seen a housing crisis that both the major parties have fuelled. If a rent regulation policy were introduced just five years ago, Adelaide renters could be paying around $140 a week less on their rent right now. Think about what a difference that $140 would make. We can't turn back time, but we must act now, or rents will continue to increase exponentially. The Greens are the only party pushing to end unlimited rent increases.