The Baillieu Government must tell Victorians how they will make housing more affordable now instead of releasing long-term visions which will do nothing to cater for future population growth, Shadow Planning Minister Brian Tee said today.
Mr Tee said the Baillieu Government and Planning Minister Matthew Guy had made grand statements but had failed to offer detailed solutions to improve access to the housing market for all Victorians.
“Despite all the pre-election talk, there are still no housing affordability targets and no real solutions from Ted Baillieu to make the cost of buying a home cheaper,” Mr Tee said.
“While Ted Baillieu talks up housing developments in the very long-term in highly expensive suburbs such as Port Melbourne, there remains no immediate plan to address the issue in the short term.
“The Baillieu Government was elected to fix the problems, but the problem of housing affordability is only getting worse.
“Nothing is more important than having a roof over your head. Victorians rightly expect swift action from the Baillieu Government on housing affordability.”
Latest figures released by the Housing Industry Association today show housing affordability continues to fall.
The Baillieu Government was quick to institute planning restrictions preventing the building of residences labelled by The Age as ‘The Tower of Power’.
“We’ve seen with rezoning around the “Tower of Power” that Ted Baillieu can act quickly. It’s time for Ted Baillieu to act quickly for struggling Victorians,” Mr Tee said.
“The fall in Melbourne’s housing affordability exceeded the national average, as more and more Victorian home buyers struggled to make ends meet.
Mr Tee said that ultimately the Baillieu Government would be judged by the independent evidence from key industry bodies, and the experience of ordinary Victorians.
“These figures show that big announcements are no substitute for effective policies to drive down the cost of living,” he said.