The Greens remain defiant in the face of Anthony Albanese’s double-dissolution threat over his housing bill, insisting the minor party will continue to push for rent relief to be part of the package.
Queensland Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather said the party remained willing to negotiate but would not be pushed into supporting Labor’s $5bn housing Australia future fund (Haff).
Chandler-Mather and acting Greens leader Mehreen Faruqi have written to the prime minister ahead of a “national day of action” on Saturday, when the Greens plan on door-knocking Labor electorates regarding the housing crisis.
The letter says the Greens “are ready” to support the housing fund legislation if the government commits to the Greens’ demand for “up to $2.5bn in annual funding for public, community and affordable housing” and “significant reforms to renters’ rights including a freeze and cap on rent increases”.
“Now that the government has flagged its intentions to reintroduce the Haff completely unchanged, unfortunately, we are rapidly forming the view that Labor is more interested in getting a double dissolution trigger than acting on the housing and rental crisis,” the letter states.
“Given Labor does not have a majority in the Senate, we call on you to work cooperatively with us to ensure the passage of the bill, rather than refusing to compromise.”
The Queensland electorates of Moreton and Lilley; Victorian electorates of Fraser, Wills and Higgins'; Tanya Plibersek’s electorate of Sydney; the South Australian electorate of Adelaide and Bean in the ACT are on the Greens’ door-knocking hitlist.
Albanese has accused the Greens of “playing politics” and using the housing issue to try to win Labor seats. Chandler-Mather said the party was supporting those who didn’t have a voice in the housing debate.
“It’s clear that the prime minister is increasingly isolated in his refusal to amend this bill to meet the scale of the crisis,” Chandler-Mather said.
“He’s facing a revolt from the unions, who want him to build 30 times more homes. He’s losing faith with Labor branches, who are considering rent freezes and want him to back the Greens’ demands. He’s out of touch with the community who overwhelmingly want a rent freeze.”
The government earlier this year announced a $2bn direct social housing investment in a failed attempt to win over the Greens. That money has started flowing through to the states and territories.
Labor also conceded that the $500m annual dispensation from the fund would be a floor, not a ceiling, after the Greens accused the government of “gambling” with the funds for public housing on the stock market.
However, the Albanese government has not budged on the Greens’ call for a fund of at least $1bn to incentivise states and territories to institute a rent freeze for two years, with the prime minister saying advice to national cabinet was it would not address the issue.
Chandler-Mather said the Greens would continue to push for improved rights for renters.
“The prime minister clearly thinks he can do nothing for the third of people in this country who rent,” he said.
Greens’ support is crucial for the bill to pass the Senate after the Coalition ruled out backing the fund almost as soon as the legislation was announced – first on the grounds it was inflationary and later because it did not believe it would build enough homes.
In the last sitting week before the winter parliamentary break, the Greens and Coalition successfully delayed the bill’s passage in the Senate to at least October, which the government considered to be the legislation failing to pass.
Under the constitution, the prime minister can ask the governor general to dissolve parliament and call a snap election if a piece of its legislation fails to pass either the lower house or Senate twice in three months.
Albanese’s announcement this week that he would re-introduce the same piece of legislation in October sets up the trigger for a double-dissolution election.
