Statement - Labor walks out on industry experts amid housing crisis

Statement – Labor walks out on industry experts amid housing crisis

James Newbury, Shadow Minister for Planning

Tuesday 6 August 2024.

In a way that only the Allan Labor Government could, Jacinta Allan convened a stakeholder forum to hear from the property sector, but Labor Ministers walked out before the sector had even spoken.

The forum was supposed to bring together leaders in Victoria’s housing sector, following the collapse of the Labor Government’s centrepiece housing strategy and its failure to deliver its promised 80,000 homes each year.

Instead, the Allan Labor Government was accused of failing to listen and having a “tin ear”, with Ministers talking at the sector, rather than listening.

Attendees at the forum, who wanted to raise with the Government their concerns about Labor’s punitive property tax regime, were instead forced to listen to the Treasurer talk at them.

Shadow Minister for Planning, James Newbury, said: “The Allan Labor Government has convened a meeting to listen, but walked out before the sector had the chance to speak.

“After breaking its promise to deliver 80,000 homes every year for the next 10 years, it is clear there is no real plan, or urgency, from this government to address the housing crisis they created.

“Only Labor could hold a meeting in aid of trying to fix a problem and walk out before trying to solve it.”

James Newbury, Shadow Minister for Planning