The Victorian Greens are threatening to block upcoming changes to the state’s planning laws unless they include a requirement for half of all dwellings in new developments to be either public or affordable housing.
In the coming months, the Andrews government will announce a suite of measures to boost housing supply, which could include changes to planning laws to fast-track approvals and limit the powers of councils to object to major developments.
But it could hit a roadblock in the upper house, where Labor relies on the support of the Greens and two other crossbenchers to pass legislation.
The Greens leader, Samantha Ratnam, has written to the premier, Daniel Andrews, saying Labor must introduce a mandatory inclusionary zoning scheme, which would involve 50% of homes in new developments being either public or affordable, in order to secure the minor party’s support.
She is also continuing to push for a statewide two-year rent freeze.
“While we remain unconvinced that the existing planning laws and the role local councils play in implementing these laws, in and of themselves, are the cause of the housing crisis, we wish to work constructively with the government to address the housing catastrophe engulfing Victorians,” Ratnam’s letter reads.
“In order for the Greens to be in a position to consider supporting any changes to the state’s planning laws, the reforms must demonstrate that they meaningfully address housing affordability, and are not merely a free ride for the property industry.”
Ratnam told Guardian Australia that developers would not provide public or affordable housing in their projects without government intervention.
She pointed to the Arden urban renewal precinct in North Melbourne, where there are plans for a development to house 15,000 people but there are no requirements for public or affordable housing. The social and affordable housing element of the Gasworks project in Fitzroy has also recently been “paused”.
“This is what happens when you don’t have the interventions from the government that we should have had, including building more public and affordable homes. It’s left to the market, it’s left to developers who are motivated by making more profits,” Ratnam said.
Mandatory inclusionary zoning has already has been implemented, in varying capacities, in South Australia, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.
In South Australia, 15% of new dwellings in all significant development projects must be affordable, including at least 5% for high-needs groups.
Earlier this week, the Council to Homeless Persons proposed every new property development in Victoria should include a mandatory quota of social housing. The powerful Property Council of Australia balked at the idea, describing it as a “tax” that could affect housing affordability.
Support for such a scheme is also growing within the Victorian Labor party, which will hold its state conference this weekend.
Among the 109 motions, known as “urgency resolutions”, to be debated is one that calls for the introduction of mandatory inclusionary zoning for all residential developments of three or more dwellings.
Under the proposal, developers would either have to provide land or stock to the government, or pay a levy on the value of their developments, to “create an enduring funding stream for social housing”.
Another resolution calls for a cap on the number of nights each year an owner can rent out a property as short stay accommodation, while recommending to national conference that it “remove negative gearing tax arrangements” for properties used for such a purpose.
A Labor source said the motions may be changed or dropped before the weekend, as factions and unions negotiate over proposals. But they anticipated most housing-related motions would be “broadly supported”.
The state conference will be the first since 2019, before the federal intervention into the party after allegations of branch stacking.
For three years, all voting rights in the Victorian branch were suspended, with preselections for state and federal elections instead conducted by the national executive.
