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

My question is for the Treasurer. Recent analysis shows renters will pay an extra $10 billion to their landlords this year in rental hikes, while reports today show the proportion of rental properties below $400 a week has more than halved in the last year. Given the government was willing to work with the states to cap energy prices, will the government finally agree to do the same for rents and put a freeze on rent increases on the National Cabinet agenda as well as doubling rent assistance in the budget to help stop this mounting crisis?

Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thanks to the member for his question. I don't think it's any secret to anyone in this place that we don't have enough rental properties in this country. Vacancy rates are incredibly low. Rents are far too high. The best response to that combination of challenges is to do what we can to build more stock. I pay tribute to the housing minister for all of her work trying to make sure that we can build more housing stock in this country. There's an important opportunity for this parliament to vote for more social and affordable housing, which is part of the solution here.

We recognise, when there are labour shortages, there are pressures on costs of building materials and other pressures, that it is a difficult time to be building more properties, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be putting in place the kinds of funds that are before the parliament, the kinds of arrangements that I've been talking about and the Minister for Housing has been talking about when it comes to housing supply and the Housing Accord.

We recognise that Australians are under the pump. We recognise that Australian renters are particularly doing it tough in the context of low vacancy rates and unacceptably high rents. The best way to deal with that is to build more properties, and that's what we intend to do.