Statement from Everybody’s ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ spokesperson Maiy Azize on the federal Budget:
“The federal government has delivered a Budget that will keep pushing up housing costs for Australians who are already battling a brutal housing market.
“There is no new funding for social housing. What the government has announced is a business as usual spend that is nowhere near enough to shift the dial on the housing crisis.
“The government’s ‘new’ funding for social housing is a repackaging of existing initiatives, offering loans instead of providing real funding, and the continuation of a funding agreement with the states and territories – something the Commonwealth routinely renews for other essential services like education and health.
“An increase to Commonwealth Rent Assistance will provide some short-term relief, but it’s not a lasting fix. It isn’t enough to keep up with rising rents, and it doesn’t go to all of the people who need it.
“If the government was serious about tackling this crisis, it would build more social housing to end the massive shortfall. These are the rentals people can actually afford. A target for the private sector will only deliver more of the same – homes that are way too expensive for average people.
“Any Budget that seriously tackles the housing crisis would also stop using unfair tax handouts to prop up landlords and investors, pushing up the cost of housing for everyone else. The Treasurer ruled out making those changes well ahead of Budget day.
“Australia’s housing crisis has never been worse. Fixing it will mean spending real money to build social housing for more renters, and putting people who need homes ahead of investors.
“Housing will be front of mind for many voters when they cast their ballots in a year’s time. The appetite for real change among Australians is here – three in five voters want reform to investor tax handouts and seven in ten want more social housing.
“The government has no more time to waste – it needs to step up and build social housing, not investor profits.”
For an explainer of the government’s housing announcement click here.
