Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was back on the international stage this weekend, on the sidelines of the G7 in Hiroshima, but a housing minefield awaits him at home, with the government finding few friends for its proposed Housing Australia Future Fund.
Labor went to the election promising to do something serious about housing and homelessness, but is the HAFF the answer? The fiercest critic so far has been parliamentary newcomer Max Chandler-Mather, a young Greens representative from Queensland who was once a member of Labor.
As Mr Chandler-Mather explains, the HAFF ‘is not actually a thing that builds any houses, in fact it’s a lot of really complicated bank accounts.’
He’s got a point, considering the fundamental idea of the HAFF is to use $10 billion of public money and gamble it on the stock market, with the assistance of some very well-paid managers. The intention is that some of the (possible) earnings could go towards subsidies for homes at some time in the future, but it’s not clear when a single home will actually be built under the scheme.
Fighting words
Speaking in parliament, Max Chandler-Mather didn’t hold back: ‘What sort of government can’t guarantee a single cent for public and affordable housing, but can guarantee $254 billion for everyone in this place to get $9,000 a year extra from tax?
‘They can guarantee $41 billion for fossil fuel subsidies. They can guarantee $16 billion in tax concessions for property investors, but they can’t guarantee a cent for public and affordable housing in the middle of the worst housing crisis,’ he said.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong savaged Mr Chandler-Mather, accusing him of ‘prioritising media attention from stunts, and obstruction, over housing for women and kids fleeing domestic violence. How shameful.’
And so it continued, with Labor refusing to address the substance of Mr Chandler-Mather’s remarks. In response, he said they were ‘trying to crush the hope’ of Australians hoping for a genuine housing solution.
Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie piled on in support of the government, saying ‘We can’t hold this back. I know this is not perfect. But people out there need a roof over their heads.’
In the end, the Greens voted with the Liberals and Nationals to stop Labor’s attempts to rush a vote on the HAFF through, which means negotiations will have to continue, along with the emotional words and accusations from all sides.
The debate will return to the upper house in June.
Echoes
For Labor, the whole thing has echoes of the unlikely alliance that torpedoed Kevin Rudd’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme in 2009, still a rancorous source of division between Labor and Green supporters across Australia.
Once more, the Greens are being portrayed as perfectionists who live in an unreal world, and Labor are being portrayed as sellouts to the principles they claim as foundations.
Meanwhile a genuine solution to the problem on the scale needed is delayed by the fact that this would likely decrease the commercial value of property across the country. This is an outcome that no one except those facing homelessness and skyrocketing rents want – least of all the banks and property developers who have the ear of all levels of government.
Originally from Canberra, David Lowe is an award-winning film-maker, writer and photographer with particular interests in the environment and politics. He’s known for his campaigning work with Cloudcatcher Media.
Long ago, he did work experience in Parliament House with Mungo MacCallum.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
