There is no love between the Greens’ outspoken housing spokesman, Max Chandler-Mather, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Mr Albanese called the 31-year-old member for the seat of Griffith and rent control campaigner in Brisbane “a joke”.
Meanwhile, other leading members of the Labor Party have described him as an ‘indulgent student politician’, an ‘idiot’ and ‘selfish’.
Photos taken on the floor of the House of Representatives after a particularly heated clash in June show Albanese’s disdain for his political rival.
On Monday, Chandler-Mather and his party announced they had squeezed an extra $3 billion out of the government for its historic housing reform policies – after a protracted standoff over one of the ALP’s signature reforms.
“Sit up straight and pay attention,” Mr. Chandler-Mather said.
‘If we stay at the negotiating table, we will get outcomes… (this is) proof that the Greens, who are in the balance of power, can push Labor kicking and screaming into taking meaningful action.
‘If we praise the Labor Party for offering crumbs, that’s all we get.’
Anthony Albanese looks back at Max Chandler-Mather after reportedly telling him: ‘You’re a joke, mate’
Mr Albanese and Labor have accused Mr Chandler-Mather of stoking housing outrage to further his own political ambitions.
The outspoken Greens housing spokesperson and member for Brisbane’s inner city seat of Griffith, 31, has described Labor as “morally repugnant”. And the government has no love for him either
Until 2013, Mr Chandler-Mather sang a very different tune – having once been a Labor activist himself.
He was a member of Labour’s left during his time at the University of Queensland. Both of his parents were also members and reportedly encouraged him to join.
He worked for the United Voice union before becoming a union organizer for the National Tertiary Education Union after graduating.
Chandler-Mather left the party in 2013.
In 2022, he spoke out about the decision, claiming he could not remain a member of a party willing to maintain offshore detention facilities in Nauru under Kevin Rudd.
‘I left the ALP in 2013 for the same reason why many people stopped voting for them. They have abandoned their principles, do not want to fix the rigged system and have no vision for a better life for all Australians,” he said in promotional material for the Greens.
With the support of the Greens, Labor has finally secured the votes to pass its Housing Australia Future Fund – the landmark housing policy that took the ALP to the last election.
The policy aims to build 30,000 social and affordable homes over five years, including 4,000 homes for women and children who experience domestic violence.
The main concern from both Greens and independents was that the bill does not go far enough to relieve pressure on the exploding housing market.
To secure the Greens’ support, the government has committed a further $3 billion in direct spending to boost social and public housing.
He was a member of Labour’s left during his time at the University of Queensland. Both of his parents were also members and reportedly encouraged him to join
He has been described by some of the most senior members of the Labor Party as an ‘idiot’, ‘selfish’, a ‘joke’ and an ‘indulgent student politician’.
At the last election, the Prime Minister promised the Australian public that he would donate $10 billion to a fund to build 30,000 homes nationwide.
That money would be invested and all proceeds – up to $500 million per year – would go towards building the new properties.
The new changes guarantee annual spending of $500 million from 2024, regardless of investment returns.
The government will also immediately spend $1 billion on public and community housing, and has committed a further $2 billion to social housing.
The Greens, urged on by Mr Chandler-Mather – himself a tenant – are still calling for a nationwide rent freeze, a move that economists say could be problematic in the long term.
Although they agreed to the policy without securing such a rent control concession, Chandler-Mather and Greens leader Adam Bandt say it is still on their radar.
Mr Bandt said: ‘Pressure works. Labor said there was no more money for housing this year and we pushed them to find $3 billion.
‘Tenants are powerful and the Greens are the party of tenants. We won more money for housing for renters, and rent control is the next step.
“I say this to Labor: if you continue to ignore tenants, your political pain has only just begun. There are still a number of important bills on the horizon in which the Greens will use our position in the balance of power to push the government to tackle rising rents with a freeze and cap on rents.”
Albanese and Labor have accused Chandler-Mather of stoking the housing outrage because of his own political ambitions.
The Prime Minister said: ‘Vulnerable people cannot be the collateral damage in your manufactured political conflict.’
On the last day of the sitting before the midwinter break, after a particularly tense discussion at HAFF, Mr Albanese said ‘you’re kidding me, mate’ as he left the meeting room.
Earlier that month, Foreign Minister Penny Wong was asked to retract comments she made against Mr Chandler-Mather in the Senate.
She said: ‘This man’s ego is more important than housing for women fleeing domestic violence and for all women at risk of homelessness.’
And Senator Tim Ayres also retracted comments describing the first-term MP as ‘a self-indulgent student politician’.
The interjections in the House of Representatives when Mr Chandler-Mather gave a tearful, impassioned speech on tenants’ rights on May 10 were reportedly so serious that complaints were made.
Iindependent Helen Haines and the Liberal National Party’s Michelle Landry have both described Mr Chandler-Mather’s treatment as the worst they have ever seen in parliament.
Ms. Haines was elected in 2019, and Ms. Landy was elected ten years ago in 2013.
During the speech, an unnamed Labor MP appeared to shout: “Sit down, you idiot.”
Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley also called for a more respectful debate last week, expressing concern and discomfort over the “bullying of a first-term MP”.
But Chandler-Mather says he’s not surprised or concerned about the frosty relationship he shares with the government.
‘The name-calling and personal insults are not surprising from Labour,” he said.
‘You would expect that a party that ultimately serves the interests of project developers and banks would respond to people who demand that we limit rents or spend enough on public housing to house everyone.’
Mr Chandler-Mather said his party would not do that.stop fighting for tenants just because the Prime Minister makes some silly insults.”
Mr Chandler-Mather, who represents the seat of Griffith in central Brisbane, has scathingly criticized the Labor government on social media over its housing policies – including housing subsidies – racking up millions of views.
‘That’s not pressure. The real pressure is choosing between paying the rent or feeding your children. And that is what the Greens are fighting for.
“Renters make up a third of Australia and deserve to have their interests fought for.
‘Labour is trying to wash its hands of any responsibility to represent tenants or people in need of public or affordable housing.’
Mr Chandler-Mather, who represents the seat of Griffith in central Brisbane, has scathingly criticized the Labor government on social media over its housing policies – including housing subsidies – racking up millions of views.
He has used TikTok to reach a younger audience, many of whom would be directly affected by Australia’s lack of affordable housing.
His clips show how Labor spends taxpayers’ money and answers questions in real time about the biggest political stories of the day.
Experts expect Australia will need 650,000 additional affordable homes over the next five years to meet demand.
Mr Chandler-Mather says he is not surprised or bothered by the frosty relationship he shares with the government
Sydney house prices have fallen by 14.7 per cent over the past year, but during the pandemic they were up 27.7 per cent, a level well above the 3.3 per cent annual wage increase when Reserve Bank interest rates hit were a record low of 0.1. per cent.
Australian household debt is 188 percent of income, up from 68 percent in the late 1980s.
US think tank Demographia ranks Sydney as the second most unaffordable city in the world when house prices are compared with incomes, after Hong Kong.
Melbourne was the ninth least affordable market in the world, with an average house price of $897,222, based on CoreLogic data for February 2023.
Adelaide ranked 14th, with an average house price of $694,653, while Brisbane was 15th, with an average house price of $767,781.