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

How many lives have to be destroyed before Labor takes real action on the housing crisis? To give you one example: a single mum in Brisbane—

Maybe you could listen to this and realise the consequences of your actions. A single mum in Brisbane evicted into homelessness has a daughter studying in TAFE and a son in year 12. She's had a perfect 10-year rental history—never late and always had her bond returned—but can't find anywhere to live. Rather than sleeping in her car, she is burning through her life savings to pay for hotel fees. Here's what she said to me: 'The system is working as intended—a punitive system designed to entrench a permanent underclass. Housing is designed by politicians as an investment, so the goal is money over people. This is not living but existing.' She went on to say: 'We didn't choose this path. We are victims of a government that failed to plan, failed the country and failed the people they allegedly serve. The cost of this mental trauma will be staggering. I see others in this hotel and at the storage facility in the same predicament. Families are being divided as they can't stay together. Children are placed with relatives or friends, sleeping in a car.'

This should not happen in a wealthy country like Australia. This single mum, like the five million adult renters in this country, will not forget Labor's betrayal. They will not forget that Labor chose to give billions of dollars in tax relief to property investors rather than help people like her. They will not forget that Labor had the power to cap rent increases and refused.