One in every 10 homes built in a new suburb planned for a former agricultural experiment station in Canberra's north should be publicly owned instead of relying on failing affordable housing schemes, the ACT Greens say.
The ACT government expects more than 3000 homes will be built on a 243-hectare tract of land between Belconnen and Gungahlin it has bought for $385 million from the CSIRO after more than a decade of talks.
The federal and ACT governments said about 15 per cent of the homes in the new suburb would be affordable, community and public housing.
But the ACT Greens' spokeswoman on housing, Rebecca Vassarotti, said the government must ensure at least 10 per cent of the homes in the future suburb are "price-capped affordable public housing".
"This government all too often outsources responsibility for delivering on cheaper rentals for everyday people, which is exactly why their over-reliance on affordable housing as a fix to the housing crisis is already failing thousands of Canberrans," Ms Vassarotti said.
"For a Canberran on the median wage, 'affordable' housing by this government's definition will still swallow nearly a third of their pay cheque. Back in the 1990s, that number was just 15 per cent. To call this progress, is dishonest and embarrassing."
Most affordable rental housing in the ACT is managed by community housing providers, who either charge rent discounted by 20 or 25 per cent from market rates or capping rents up to 30 per cent of pre-tax income.
Public housing tenants granted a rent rebate generally pay an amount of rent equal to 25 per cent of their basic income.
ACT Greens leader Jo Clay said the success of Ginninderra East should be ultimately measured by who is able to live there.
"The real test isn't how many homes are built, but whether or not a single parent or someone who has spent years waiting for public housing can afford to call this community home," Ms Clay said, while also calling for early community involvement in the planning process.
Opposition Leader Mark Parton and the Canberra Liberals' lead Senate candidate, Nick Tyrrell, welcomed the sale of the land but said the government needed to move quickly to get homes built and should say how many homes would be standing by 2030.
"Canberrans also deserve to know what kind of homes these will be. There is strong demand for freestanding homes in the ACT that land supply and price have never kept up with. Will CSIRO Ginninderra deliver the houses families actually want?" Mr Parton said.
ACT Housing Minister Yvette Berry on Saturday said the purchase of the land would help the government meet its target of enabling "30,000 new homes to be built by the end of 2030".
"We look forward to working with the community over the years ahead to develop and deliver new suburbs at Ginninderra East," Ms Berry said.
