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

When Labor first introduced the Housing Australia Future Fund legislation to this parliament in February, it didn't guarantee a cent of funding for public and affordable housing. As a result of pressure from the Greens and as a result of pushing and fighting, there is now $3 billion of direct investment going into public and community housing. If the Greens had listened to many of the Labor MPs in this place and much of the political and media establishment and had just passed the HAFF as it was, we would have got nothing. Instead, we held firm and got $3 billion of direct investment in public and community housing. There are now tens of thousands of people who will get to move into a public and community home because the Greens pushed back on a plan that didn't guarantee a cent in funding for public and community housing.

What we weren't able to do was secure a freeze and cap on rent increases. We did force National Cabinet, the Prime Minister and every Labor Premier and First Minister in this country to meet around the table, at least talk about a plan for national renters' rights and admit that the one-third of the country who rent are real people and deserve dignity. What we couldn't get them to do was cap rent increases. So, from here on in, every rent increase that happens, every time someone's rent go up, that is Labor's fault. Every time someone gets evicted because they can't afford the rent, that's Labor's fault. My promise to renters is that we will not stop fighting. We will not stop fighting, no matter how much pushback we get, until we're standing here celebrating a freeze and cap on rent increases and changing millions of people's— (Time expired)