Anthony Albanese has strongly criticised the Coalition for their refusal to consider Labor’s housing policy, emphasizing that both major parties share responsibility for the lack of progress.
The Prime Minister has accused the Coalition of diverting attention from their own failure to act on housing affordability by focusing on the Greens’ proposals. Mr Albanese pointed to the need for government and opposition to come together to fix the crisis.
“Due to the Coalition’s propensity for striking down any and all proposals brought to them, regardless of their merits, the crossbench has become critical for ensuring any kind of progress. Such negative voting behavior has resulted in tangible consequences, most notably the lack of housing construction in the present day,” Mr Albanese told reporters on Tuesday morning.
This week, Labor will be reintroducing the HAFF, a $10 billion program aimed at giving the government possible cause to initiate a double-dissolution election. In the event that the HAFF falls short of its goal a third time within the three month period, the government will have the option to bring upon a double-dissolution election.
The Prime Minister has suggested that a snap election is unlikely, however he has not excluded the possibility that he may remain in office for the full three year term before setting off the double-dissolution trigger.
At the election, Labor promised to create a fund from which the proceeds could be used to construct 30,000 social and affordable homes within a period of five years. However, the Coalition immediately rejected the idea of having an off-budget fund.
Since the introduction of the Bill, both Labor and the Greens have made concessions. In July, the government revealed it would inject a sum of $2bn into social housing instantly. On Monday, the minor party showed a willingness to accept the HAFF under the government’s agreement to raise the yearly funding for social and affordable housing to as much as $2.5bn a year.
