The Victorian Greens have announced their plan for a public builder that would see the Victorian government build homes to be rented and sold to first home buyers at below market prices, which could save them thousands of dollars.
The Greens say a public builder is essential if any of Victoria's housing plans are to actually be delivered - and that Labor's reliance on private developers for their plan will see new homes delayed and apartments costing at least 15 per cent more.
Under the Greens plan the public builder would build 200,000 genuinely affordable homes for rent and sale over the next 20 years.
Based on a federal PBO costing, the Victorian Greens forecast that renters could save more than $122 a week per household, and first home buyers $260,157 on a home, compared to median private price, under the plan for a public not-for-profit builder.
The public builder would be responsible for building 100,000 homes for first-home buyers to buy at 5% above the cost of building. These would be built in activity centres, near train stations and in regional areas. In contrast, Labor's plan relies on private profit-driven developers to build homes in these areas, which means Labor's plan relies on more expensive homes.
The plan also includes 100,000 homes for rent at a maximum of 25% of the household income, to clear the existing social housing waitlist, with priority given to households already on the waitlist.
The Greens will have the plan costed by the Victorian PBO but say the initial investment for the plan will come from taxing big corporations, including developers and the big banks, as well as funds from the empty homes tax and short stay levy (secured by the Greens in Victorian Parliament) and Commonwealth contribution.
The Leader of the Victorian Greens, Ellen Sandell said that you can't fix a housing crisis by making housing more expensive and that a public builder will build homes that people can actually afford.
As stated by the Leader of the Victorian Greens, Ellen Sandell:
"If Labor really cared about getting millennials into homes, they'd adopt the Greens plan which would build homes people can actually afford.
"Labor is giving handouts and incentives to property developers and investors to make housing even more expensive - that's not how you fix a housing crisis, that's how you make it worse.
"The Greens are setting the agenda on housing for other parties to follow: our pressure is working, but Labor is kidding itself if it thinks it can just keep relying on private profit-driven developers to turn this housing crisis around."
As stated by the Victorian Greens spokesperson for Public and Affordable Housing, Gabrielle de Vietri:
"A Victorian public builder will directly build tens of thousands of new genuinely affordable homes, saving first home buyers and renters thousands of dollars.
"What Labor's proposing is expensive, luxury apartments that are only approved on paper and won't actually get built unless developers can guarantee massive profits.
"What the Greens are proposing is affordable homes. And because they're built to live in, not for profit, every Victorian could see themselves living in a home built by the public builder."
