The Greens continue to pressure the government to negotiate with their party to address Australia’s housing crisis.
Labor has been trying to pass two bills—Help to Buy and Build to Rent—but have failed to receive the support of the Greens and Coalition.
Greens Criticism of Help to Buy
Chandler-Mather argued that the Help to Buy Bill does little to address Australia’s housing crisis as it fails to create new homes, instead driving up prices in the existing private market.The bill proposes a shared equity scheme to help low-income individuals and families enter the housing market. Through Housing Australia, the Commonwealth would pay up to 30 percent of the purchase price for existing homes and 40 percent for new homes, with 10,000 places available annually for four years.
“A similar scheme in New South Wales failed after two years and is now under scrutiny,” Chandler-Mather stated.
He argued the program essentially encourages participants to pay more for properties than they otherwise would, functioning as a demand-side subsidy without increasing housing supply.
Chandler-Mather further criticised the scheme’s limited scope, helping just 10,000 applicants annually out of Australia’s 5.5 million adult renters, leaving over 99 percent of renters without assistance. Income eligibility caps of $90,000 for individuals and $120,000 for couples further restrict access.
The Greens MP also raised concerns about the scheme’s price caps, which fall below the median dwelling values in Victoria and the Northern Territory, making it difficult for buyers to find eligible homes. In Sydney, where property prices far exceed these caps, the scheme’s reach is even more limited.
While the government defends these caps as a measure to prevent an inflationary effect on house prices, Chandler-Mather argued that it restricts access to affordable housing in areas where the market is already overheated.
“It just shows that any way you cut or slice this scheme, it is deeply flawed,” he said.
Minister for Employment, Senator Murray Watt, responded to the Greens’ claims, arguing that the Bill would help people buy homes, even if not everyone would benefit immediately.
“Just because we can’t help 100 percent of renters buy their own home, should we stop helping those who can?” he asked.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed frustration with the Coalition and the Greens for blocking Labor’s efforts to build more houses.
“When it comes to housing, we are building; the Coalition and the Greens have been blocking. Australia does have a housing shortage,” he said.
On the Build to Rent Scheme
Chandler-Mather also criticised the government’s Build to Rent scheme, which offers tax concessions to developers building multi-unit rental developments over a 15-year period, primarily targeting foreign investors.He claims that the treasury confirmed that there was no modelling to suggest the scheme would add rental properties, contradicting earlier claims by the housing minister.
“Only 10 percent of the units are deemed ‘affordable,’ and that affordability is defined as 75 percent of the market rent within the development, not the surrounding area. Loopholes also allow developers to maximise profits by offering lower-quality units, with no guarantee of affordability after 15 years,” he added.
Meanwhile Housing Minister Clare O’Neil has maintained that the Albanese government is “not thinking about” amendments to build-to-rent incentives.
Greens’ Proposals
The Greens propose a freeze on rent increases to provide immediate relief as rent prices soared over the last financial year.They also advocate scrapping $38.9 billion in tax handouts to property investors and instead invest the funds in public housing and give renters a better chance to buy their first home.
Their plan includes building 360,000 homes over five years, with rent capped at 25 percent of household income.
Additionally, they propose establishing a National Renters Protection Authority to enforce rental laws, investigate breaches, and advocate for renters’ rights.
