Federal Labor MP, Justine Elliot, has told The Echo she expects successful projects from the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) will be announced in the coming months.
The comments come after questions around claims by Mrs Elliot’s political opponent, Greens candidate Mandy Nolan, that $30 million has been spent ‘without building a single affordable home’, owing to consultant fees and executive salaries.
Mrs Elliot’s 351-word reply again centred around attacking Ms Nolan over the delays by the Greens in passing the bill in federal parliament, and their delays around Labor’s Help to Buy legislation.
As previously reported, the Greens negotiations provided an extra $3 billion for the HAFF, and guaranteed a minimum annual spend of $500 million from the HAFF, starting in 2024-25.
Despite this, Mrs Elliot does not agree that it is a benefit for the electorate, and instead says those delays were costly.
Mrs Elliot did not explain why there is no provision for public housing in the $10 billion fund.
The Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) does not explicitly include provisions for public housing, which is government-led.
Instead, it focuses on social and affordable housing, which is administered by housing providers.
The Echo asked Mrs Elliot, ‘Given Australia was largely built on public housing, why was it not the centrepiece of the fund?’ A reply will be published if received.
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