2 days Ago By Ellen Ransley
The Senate has forced Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to delay a vote on his signature housing policy by two months. The Greens, with the backing of the Coalition and all crossbenchers except for David Pocock, have pushed back a vote on Labor’s shared equity “Help to Buy scheme” until late November. The minor party say Labor has now been granted more time to “seriously negotiate, or face the consequences of failing to help renters and first home buyers”.
“The time is ticking for the Prime Minister to stop bulldozing and let his ministers negotiate with the Greens to pass this bill,” leader Adam Bandt said. “This is a test for Labor. Do they want this bill to pass, or are they trying to make it fail? While Anthony Albanese is refusing to let his ministers negotiate with the Greens, the housing crisis is just getting worse, and renters are being pushed to the brink.
Ellen Ransley “The Greens want Labor to negotiate seriously and to wind back tax handouts for wealthy property investors, work with the states to cap and freeze rents, and build public housing for all.” The Government has repeatedly ruled out touching tax handouts, especially in relation to this bill. Mr Albanese has suggested the failure of the bill could be the first trigger in a double dissolution election, although that is highly unlikely given the timing.
Housing Minister Clare O’Neil on Wednesday morning said while the Government remained committed to the scheme, it was just “one weapon in the arsenal” in addressing the housing crisis. “What our government is doing is something that we haven’t seen a Commonwealth Government do in a very long time, and that is say that the Commonwealth’s got a real role and a responsibility here,” she said..
