Well finally, after six wasted months, a mountain of public criticism and constant pressure from the Labor government with the threat of a double dissolution election, the irresponsible Greens have finally come to their senses and are now supporting the Labor government’s Housing Affordability Future Fund.
However, it appears that they have still not learnt their lesson because they are still banging on about a ‘rent freeze’, something all of the state leaders rejected out of hand, and were in total agreement that a ‘rent freeze’ was nothing more than a cheap con job by the Greens and would only make a bad situation even worse.
The Greens are now on the back foot and trying to play catch-up politics, because the Labor government and the states have already implemented a national housing policy committing to build 1.2 million homes in the next five years; a challenging task given ongoing material supply and labour problems are the primary issues to address.
Agreement was also reached to develop a nationally consistent policy to remove no-grounds evictions and limiting rent increases to once a year, and the phasing in of minimum rental standards, and commitment to better regulate short-stay residential accommodation. A great outcome for renters without stifling genuine housing investment. This whole distasteful exercise in futility only proves that real decisions can only be made by real governments.
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. 
