Greens announce support for Anthony Albanese’s $10billion Housing Australia Future Fund in political earthquake: Rent caps out

The Greens will back the government’s historic housing policy by delivering 30,000 new rental homes, after securing a total of $3 billion in additional spending.

After months of tense negotiations between the Greens and the government, leader Adam Bandt announced today that they had reached an agreement to support the bill.

‘Pressure works. Labor said there was no more money for housing this year and we pushed them to find $3 billion,” he said.

The government did not change its position on limiting rent increases, but Bandt said his party would continue to fight for tenants’ rights.

The Labor government has described the legislation and associated commitments as the “most important housing reforms in a generation”.

Since the policy’s inception, Greens have raised concerns about the risks associated with relying on stock market returns.

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.

Mr Bandt and his housing spokesman, Max Chandler-Mather, had repeatedly criticized the policy for failing to provide immediate relief to struggling tenants despite an ongoing cost-of-living and affordability crisis.

He said: “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.”

Last month, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged to work with states and territories to build 1.2 million new homes over the next five years to combat the national housing crisis.

Mr Albanese pledged that life will become easier for tenants under the new deal, after meeting with state premiers to discuss housing.

He acknowledged that supply remains the key issue across the board and has promised the new homes will be built in “well-located” areas around Australia from July 2024. This is 200,000 additional homes than was promised last year.

The National Cabinet has also agreed to work towards a ‘better deal for tenants’, including developing a nationally consistent policy to abolish warrantless evictions and taking steps towards limiting rent increases to only once a year.

The government will look at a gradual introduction of minimum rental standards.

“This is unapologetically borrowed from some of the Hawke reforms,” Albanese said.

And today, after the Greens showed their support, Mr Albanese said: “The $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund will create a secure, continuous funding pipeline for social and affordable rental housing, delivering on the Government’s commitment to Australia people have done.’

Of the 30,000 new homes approved, 4,000 will be set aside specifically for women and children affected by domestic violence, and for older women at risk of homelessness.

More to come