Fifteen new ‘affordable’ units are pegged for Brunswick Heads through the first round of the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF).
The HAFF was passed by federal Labor in November 2023, but was delayed by the Greens, who pushed for improvements to the law.
While Labor claims the delays were costly, the Greens say the extra money they negotiated was a better result.
Local MP Justine Elliot jumped at the recent data released by the HAFF, and said in a media release the 15 units would be ‘for renters, for first home buyers, for women and children escaping domestic violence, older women, frontline workers, and Indigenous Australians’.
Mrs Elliot said, ‘This is on top of the funding I delivered for 26 Safe Places for women and children fleeing domestic violence in Tweed Heads’.
‘The Albanese Labor government is directly supporting more social and affordable housing nationwide than the Liberals and Nationals did in their entire nine years in office’.
Her office said there was no further details around the project, and added that the location would not be disclosed owing to privacy reasons. No timeframe is associated with the project.
The Echo asked, ‘What “affordable housing” metric will apply? And what is the expected cost?’
According to www.housingaustralia.gov.au, housing provider Momentum Collective has the contract for the units.
Greens reply
Greens candidate, Mandy Nolan, said, ‘I’m pleased to see results in our own backyard from the Greens’ negotiations with Labor that ensured the housing fund would actually build homes’.
‘But with over 2,000 people on our social housing waitlist, the highest homelessness rate in NSW, and no clear plan for flood-affected residents living in pod villages, this is just a drop in the ocean compared to the investment we need to see’.
‘If elected to parliament, I’ll fight for the massive investment in housing our community desperately needs and certainty for everyone still living in pod villages with nowhere in our community to return to’.
Nationals reply
The office of Nationals candidate, Kimberly Hone, said her party [the Coalition] would abolish the HAFF if elected, and said Labor’s high migrant intake (‘1.8 million new migrants over five years’) is adding to the housing pressure.
‘We will alleviate pressure on the housing market by implementing a two-year ban on foreign investors and temporary residents purchasing existing homes and rebalance the migration program.
‘This would free up well over 100,000 homes in the next five years’.
One Nation reply
A spokesperson for One Nation candidate, Ian Mye, said they support the HAFF.
‘However, One Nation has consistently been concerned about the high immigration levels into Australia where people come to Australia and compete for available housing and for employment’.
‘This we believe keeps housing costs high and crimps wages’, they said.
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