Max Chandler-Mather (Griffith, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

NDLER-MATHER () (): I've been a renter my entire adult life. I know what it's like to cop an unfair rent increase. I know what it's like to ask for basic repairs and get evicted as a result. And I know what it's like to lose a home you thought you could live in for years. But, frankly, I've had it easy, and there are millions of renters out there right now who are one rent increase away from eviction or financial stress—the pensioner who knows that they are one rent increase away from living on the streets, the family who know that, as a result of those rent increases, they'll have to pull their kid out of the local school because they can't afford to live in the local area. Those are the people whose lives are being destroyed right now because the Labor Party is so committed to enshrining unlimited rent increases in this country.

Australia is a wealthy country. Australia is a country that is meant to pride itself on giving everyone the basics they need to live a good life. That is why the Greens are fighting so hard. It was the Greens who stood up for months, being accused by the Labor Party of standing in the way, and actually what we did was secure $2 billion in funding for social housing. Now we're going to use that power to make sure those renters out there are able to live in dignity and know that there are limits on rent increases, a freeze on rent increases, which will allow them to go and live a good life.

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