August 29th, 2023.
The Victorian Greens will today introduce a bill to the Upper House that would amend the state’s planning laws to mandate a minimum of 30 per cent of new developments to be public and affordable housing.
This follows the launch of the party’s Housing Statement earlier this week, which included an 11-point list of real solutions to the housing crisis, including inclusionary zoning.
The Planning and Environment Amendment (Inclusionary Zoning) Bill 2023 would ensure a minimum 30 per cent public and affordable housing in developments of 15 or more homes across the state.
The Greens say this would help solve the state’s housing crisis by significantly boosting our supply of public and affordable housing, and making property developers build their fair share.
Earlier this year, the Victorian Labor Government confirmed it had quietly been preparing major reforms to the state’s housing and planning system.
However, if these reforms end up allowing already powerful property developers to reap massive profits without regulation, it could push up housing prices and make the crisis worse.
Leader of the Victorian Greens, Samantha Ratnam, said the housing crisis had in part been caused by giving property developers and moguls too much power, pushing the cost of housing through the roof.
She said that in order to tackle the crisis, it was important the Government didn’t cave into the property industry again, and instead found the guts to stand up to its property industry donors.
The Housing Statement released by the Greens yesterday will form the basis of their upcoming negotiations with the Victorian Labor Government over housing and planning reform.
With the Premier due to announce his own reforms any week now, the Greens say their statement will provide a strong benchmark to measure them against.
QUOTES ATTRIBUTABLE TO SAMANTHA RATNAM, LEADER OF THE VICTORIAN GREENS.
“We’re in a housing crisis caused by property developers being given too much special treatment.
“The only way to fix it is to ensure that developers build their fair share of public and affordable homes.
“Many international cities including London and New York have used inclusionary zoning to address housing affordability issues.
“The Victorian Labor Government must now do the same if it cares about the housing stress that millions are experiencing.”
