Jordon Steele-John (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The rental market in this country is completely broken. Never before has a system that was designed to help people achieve a basic human right been so stacked in the favour of profiteering corporations and apathetic landlords. Renters know the system is stacked against them. We are seeing people compete to get a rental. There are lines around the block, and, if you are lucky enough to get one, you have to cross your fingers that you will get a benevolent landlord, one who isn't unresponsive, dismissive and intrusive. The horrors are abundant: rain pouring into the living room through leaks in the ceiling, mould in the bathroom and the absence of basic amenities like air conditioning and insulation. These are just a few of the problems that renters face, and, if they complain, the tenancy acts are weaponised against them, leaving them fearful of being punished, including via eviction.

That is why the Greens are proposing a national renters and rental protection authority. The national renters protection authority would play a key role in enforcing new national rental tenancy standards. The Greens plan would ensure $2.5 billion is injected towards states and territories that adopt model laws that place power back in the hands of renters. It is time that we protect renters rights and back— (Time expired)