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

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

After months of tense negotiations between the Greens and government, leader Adam Bandt today revealed they’d come to a consensus to support the bill.

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

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

The Labor government has described the legislation and associated commitments the ‘most significant reforms to housing in a generation’. 

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

At the last election the Prime Minister’s promised to the Australian public he would assign $10 billion to a fund to build 30,000 homes nationwide. That money would be invested and all returns – up to $500 million per year – would be spent on building the new properties. 

The new amendments have guaranteed an annual spend of $500million from 2024 regardless of investment returns.

The government will also spend $1billion immediately on public and community housing, and has committed a further $2billion to social housing.

Mr Bandt and his housing spokesperson, Max Chandler-Mather, had repeatedly slammed the policy for failing to to offer any immediate assistance to struggling renters, despite an ongoing cost of living and affordability crisis. 

He said: ‘Renters are powerful and the Greens are the party of renters. We have won more money for housing for renters, and rent control is next.

‘I say this to Labor: if you continue to ignore renters, your political pain has just begun. There are several more significant bills on the immediate horizon where the Greens will use our position in balance of power to push the government to address soaring rents with a freeze and cap on rents.’ 

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

The prime minister has promised life will get easier for renters under the new agreement, after meeting with state premiers to discuss housing

Mr Albanese promised life will get easier for renters under the new agreement, after meeting with state premiers to discuss housing.

He acknowledged supply remains the primary issue across the board, and has vowed the new homes will be built in ‘well located’ areas around Australia, starting from July 2024. This is an additional 200,000 homes than pledged last year.

National Cabinet has also agreed to work toward providing a ‘better deal for renters’, which will include developing a nationally consistent policy to remove no-grounds evictions and move toward limiting rent increases to only once a year.

The government will look toward phasing in minimum rental standards. 

‘This is borrowed, unashamedly, from some of the Hawke reforms,’ Mr Albanese said.

And today, after the Greens revealed their support, Mr Albanese said: ‘The $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund will create a secure, ongoing pipeline of funding for social and affordable rental housing, fulfilling the commitment the Government made to the Australian people.’ 

Of the 30,000 new homes which have been committed to, 4,000 will be set aside specifically for women and children impacted by domestic violence, and older women at risk of homelessness.

More to come