In what appears to be an early start to the battle for the seat of Richmond in 2025, Greens Candidate Mandy Nolan has responded to a tweet that the sitting Member for Richmond Justine Elliot posted last week – Nolan saying the tweet is inaccurate.
Nolan has called on Mrs Elliot to withdraw the misleading Twitter post involving a homeless man.
On Tuesday the Labor member tweeted a video extract from a news bulletin, saying ‘Watch this: A 67 year-old homeless man speaks on how he is affected by the Greens Party blocking social and affordable housing.’
However in the video the man makes no mention of the Greens, and the Labor member has come under strong criticism from the public on line.
Misleading and should be withdrawn
‘Justine Elliot’s tweet is misleading and should be withdrawn with an apology to the homeless person involved,’ says Nolan, who is pushing for strong solutions to the ‘housing emergency’.
Nolan says unlimited rent rises should be made illegal, and the nationally coordinated rent freeze the Greens are pushing for can work to improve the lives of millions of Australians. With Labor in power in every mainland state and territory, the Greens are calling for the Prime Minister to put $1bn on the table to incentivise state governments to enact a two-year freeze on rents, with ongoing rent caps thereafter.
‘Outrageous rent increases are hurting our kids and our grandchildren, from Ballina to the Tweed. Labor’s housing plans don’t match the scale of this housing emergency, and that’s why the Greens are promoting real solutions.
Is Labor doing enough?
Nolan says the national Essential Media poll this week found 68 per cent of Australians don’t think Labor is doing enough to ensure ‘affordable and secure rentals’. ‘Last month a poll found 60 per cent support for a freeze on rental increases.
‘Rent freeze and caps work, in Australia and around the world. They are working in the ACT, where the Greens have shared power, and they are working in Scotland, which froze rents last year and now has a 3 per cent cap on rent increases.’
‘Every person forced out of their home by a huge rent rise is another person fighting to put a roof over their head in a worsening rental market, and potentially one more person added to the back of a ten year long social housing waitlist. If you make unlimited rent rises illegal, it will help slow the growing demand for social housing,’ says Nolan.
65 per cent of tenants in rental stress
‘Figures from research firm Digital Finance Analytics show the rates of Australian renters in financial stress has risen dramatically in the last year, and that a staggering 65 per cent of tenants are now in rental stress.
‘Labor’s Housing Australia Future Fund does not pay out a cent until 2024-5, and offers just $500m of the $15bn required to fix the housing crisis. With a budget surplus of over $4bn, the Greens want Labor to provide $2.5bn a year to social and affordable housing. The Greens have already successfully pushed Labor to immediately provide $2bn to the states for affordable housing.’
Desperate attempt to divert attention
Sitting member Justine Elliots says this is another desperate attempt to divert attention from her party’s destructive actions in the Federal Parliament. ‘Greens Party candidate Mandy Nolan has now resorted to highlighting her party’s Twitter attacks on me. This proves that the Greens are more focused on social media, than fixing the housing and homelessness crisis. They need to back Labor’s Housing Bill or get out of the way.
‘A homeless man telling his story, and why he needs housing now, is exactly why the Greens political party must pass Labor’s housing legislation – which, contrary to false claims (lies) from the Greens Party, will allow housing to be built immediately.
Not too worried about the comments
‘Honestly, I’m not too worried about the comments from Melbourne based trolls on Twitter. They need to get off their keyboards and start actually helping people who are homeless – and a good way to do that would be to contact Greens Party MPs, councillors, and candidates, urging them all to set aside their political agendas and join with Labor and the ‘Teal’ independents in backing this important housing bill.
‘Every single day, $1.3 million is delayed from going into social and affordable housing because the Greens Party is blocking Labor’s $10 billion Housing Fund in Parliament. This fund is the biggest investment in social and affordable housing in a decade. Disgracefully, the Greens are blocking it – along with the Liberals, Nationals, and Pauline Hanson’s One Nation.
Extremely disappointing
‘It’s extremely disappointing that Mandy Nolan’s Greens Party colleagues are delaying the building of 30,000 new social and affordable rental homes for people in need.
‘It’s disgraceful that, while locals are living in cars, and women and children fleeing domestic violence have nowhere to go, candidate Mandy Nolan and her Greens Party colleagues are playing political games to try to win votes.
‘As the Assistant Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence, I’m on the ground speaking to people and groups involved and working hard to get this Bill passed.
‘In terms of rents, locals know that the Federal Government does not constitutionally have the power to implement a rent freeze. It is a matter for states, and those claiming otherwise are lying. It’s also important to note that data and evidence cited by the Greens tell us this policy would not improve affordability and would mean less rentals in the future.
Labor Party builds houses
‘The fact is at all levels of government, the Labor Party builds houses, and the Greens Party blocks them. The Greens Party is the reason people can’t find a safe place to call home on the North Coast. Our community is desperate for housing and the Greens Party needs to either back the Bill or just get out of the way.’
Nolan says we are in a housing emergency. People from Mullumbimby to Murwillumbah are struggling to pay their rents and struggling to pay their mortgages, while big banks, developers and Airbnb are making a mint.’
Rents will go up another 10 per cent
‘If we don’t act now, according to the Reserve Bank rents will go up another 10 per cent in the coming year, more and more people will struggle to cope and many could be evicted –that’s why the Greens are pushing Labor for a rent freeze and why we secured a national inquiry into the rental crisis.’
The Senate Committee on The worsening rental crisis in Australia has now started and is taking public submissions until July 28.
Nolan says the Greens are calling for Labor to act to help renters, as part of negotiations on the Government’s housing bill, which will return to the Senate on October 16.
Nolan says she is is within 1.8 per cent of winning Richmond, a seat Labor has held for almost 20 years.
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