Page 3975 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 29 November 2022
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
global price of oil and, subsequent to those, the rapidly rising consumer price index and therefore inflation.
ABC News’s deep dive into rental affordability report discusses a range of reasons for the rental squeeze, stating that these are broad and multifaceted. For example, the post-COVID border opening has led to an influx of migrants and students into the country, which has put extra pressure on rental supply. Rising interest rates have also meant that landlords, in some cases, are passing on the difference to their tenants. The report also identifies that investor-friendly tax breaks, such as the capital gains tax discount and negative gearing, continue to lure investors in the market, driving up rents, keeping would-be home owners out of the market and trapping people into rental accommodation. The report also identified the need for reform to security of tenure and to address the power imbalance between landlords and renters.
This example of rental affordability leads me to a couple of points I want to stress in this discussion. First of all, I want to stress that the government are aware of this issue and we are taking action to try and mitigate it. We are not just aware of this rental affordability issue; we are aware of the range of cost of living challenges. Mr Barr’s amendment spells out many of the extensive actions that the ACT government is taking in this area. The Greens’ election policies focused on them and the parliamentary agreement focuses on them too. In many ways, these are vexed and deeply ingrained societal challenges that need a lot of work, and some of them are factors that are beyond the direct control of the ACT government.
Just one example of action in my portfolio is the significant reforms we are progressing in the rental space, such as the removal of no-cause evictions and new regulation to enact minimum energy efficiency standards. What I notice in particular is that, despite Liberal Party motions like the one today to give lip-service to affordability issues, the Liberal Party actually constantly opposes, blocks and criticises real actions that will help people who are the most vulnerable. Time and again, for example, Mr Deputy Speaker, you have opposed and criticised our moves to assist people who rent in Canberra, taking on the role of passionate advocate for landlords.
The new minimum insulation standards, for example, which will have a real impact on tenants’ energy bills, potentially saving them hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars and protecting them from the health impacts of heat and cold. The Liberal Party apparently does not think that requiring these minimum standards is a good idea. Mr Parton’s approach to these issues is to echo the desires of the Real Estate Institute and the landlords, but never does he advocate for the needs of tenants, the people on JobSeeker, the pensioners, the single parents, the minimum wage workers, who have to rent and pay these energy bills, and who remain at risk of being evicted at any time because a landlord can evict them without cause.
That is fine if that is the Liberal Party’s position: the championing of Canberra’s landlords at the expense of Canberra’s renters. But they should not move a motion like this on affordability in Canberra and expect it to be taken seriously when they are counteracting it in those other instances. In fact, there is an extensive list of measures that the Liberal Party opposes that would help affordability.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video