Janet Rice (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Australia is experiencing its worst housing crisis in generations. Many renters have seen their rents skyrocket by 20 per cent or more in the last year, with no end in sight. Meanwhile, there are more than three million people in Australia who are trying to survive on income support and who just cannot keep up with the cost of food, medicine and housing in a cost-of-living crisis. Labor's budget was tough to hear for these people, who just cannot make ends meet on their poverty payments. Labor's solution was an increase of just $2.85 per day to JobSeeker and youth allowance. That doesn't even buy you a loaf of bread, let alone enable you to keep a roof over your head.

According to Anglicare, the changes in the budget will mean that the number of homes across the country that are affordable for a single person living on JobSeeker will increase by one, from four before the election to five—five houses in the country. The Greens are urging Labor to get serious about this crisis. They can no longer drag their heels while people are suffering. Labor's concession today to guarantee $500 million in funding for public and affordable housing is nowhere near enough, and it's not even going to be indexed until 2029, which means that that $500 million will fall in value over the next six years.

Labor, you have to come to the table and negotiate. It is time for a freeze on rent increases for two years and more funding for public and affordable housing now. Your own advice says that at least $15 billion a year is needed in investment in public and affordable housing. What you're offering is a drop in— (Time expired)