Labor's refusal to stop unlimited rent increases is a matter of choice
2025-06-10
greens.org.au
Housing Minister Clare O’Neil’s promise to slash red tape in home building risks handing our urban environments to property developers whose only concern is profit, according to Australian Greens Housing spokesperson, Senator Barbara Pocock.

O’Neil said last week that detailed planning regulations and construction codes are creating barriers for builders and that she wants to meet with the states to talk about how to dismantle these. Senator Pocock acknowledges the need for a careful review of planning processes but says Labor needs to include action on unlimited rent increases in its discussions with the states.

Lines attributable to Senator Barbara Pocock:

"The Minister's announcement that she will intervene in state housing regulation - something Labor have long argued is impossible when opposing rent caps, reveals Labor's refusal to stop unlimited rent increases is an ongoing choice. They could stop them if they want to.

"Either Labor was misleading renters when they claimed to be unable to work with the states to freeze and cap rents, or they are trying to pass the buck on missing housing targets now. They can't have it both ways."

“We need more housing built more quickly but what we don’t want is poor quality housing in bad locations. I acknowledge there is a dire need to lift productivity in the housing sector and reframing regulation will help achieve this, but we must be very careful undertaking reforms in this area to avoid greenlighting shoddy developers who will deliver substandard dwellings in inappropriate settings.

“Many of these regulations are in place to protect consumers, protect the environment and make our urban areas more liveable. We can’t afford to lower our standards on safety and sustainability as we try to improve efficiency.

“The housing minister is keen to exert pressure on the states to change planning regulations. However, when we Greens call for restrictions on rents she declares rents are a matter for the states. With a national crisis affecting millions of renters, it's time for some consistency. I am calling on Clare O’Neil to commit to including rent controls in her discussions with state and territory governments.

“The housing crisis in Australia can’t be solved simply by increasing supply. We also need to dampen demand especially from wealthy property investors. Changing the way capital gains tax and negative gearing work in the housing market is also essential to clear the way for first home buyers.

“These tax breaks make home ownership unaffordable for too many Australians and turbo charge intergenerational inequality. We need action on housing, but we need the right set of policy solutions to ensure equity and liveability in our urban environments.”

whiteknight wrote on Jun 11^th, 2025 at 1:47pm:


Well buy a house.

whiteknight wrote on Jun 11^th, 2025 at 1:53pm:


Well get a job.

whiteknight wrote on Jun 11^th, 2025 at 1:58pm:


Get another job, take a course to improve your skills and earn more money, budget and save for a deposit, do the hard work and get the rewards.

Make land banking illegal

Ban Airbnbs

End negative gearing.

There are so much Labor could do besides collapsing building standards.

Ai_Took_Our_Jobs wrote on Jun 11^th, 2025 at 3:10pm:


That's a very longwinded way of avoiding the topic of why the Greens lost seats.

Ai_Took_Our_Jobs wrote on Jun 11^th, 2025 at 3:23pm:

Quote:




Wait a couple of years. Ai/robotics  building shelter. Ai/robots moving closer and closer towards free labour. Owning the companies and supply chains so collapsing the profit margins, pushing human businesses out.  Fingers crosses, Ai rather than redesigned cities, will decentralised living so cities can be migrated away from.

Labor collapsing building standards will not help current supply chains. You can't build low quality humpies if you don't have the materials.

Labor is not serious about rectifying current shelter issues. They are just paying back favours for party donations.

Way forward in the short term to lower the cost of shelter is via market manipulation. i.e banning airbnbs and land banking, reducing immigration,  ending negative gearing, foreign ownership, and so on.  This will help to decrease demand for urban sprawl without services.

Why would they?  The program to disempower the peasantry financially and socially and legally must not be hindered in any way.... a subject populace struggling to make ends meet let alone prosper through work is so much more easy to control... it's the Fascist way.

As I said to yez all long ago about Albo - he either believes implicitly in all this BS, and is thus mad ...... or he doesn't believe in it at all but goes ahead with it anyway - which means he is even madder still.

NOBODY in his or her right mind could support these things against the people.

I Told You So!!  You bought these dorks into power with your silly voting - now generations will pay for it .. YOUR generations - not theirs.

I TOLD YOU SO!