Anthony Albanese won’t rule out double dissolution election in housing stalemate

The PM hasn’t ruled out a double dissolution election as the ugly political debate over housing continues.

Anthony Albanese hasn’t ruled out calling a double dissolution election if Labor fails to resolve its stalemate with the Greens over the $10bn Housing Australia Future Fund.

The Prime Minister put the ball in the Greens’ court on Sunday after a week of ugly debate in parliament, saying the government would “wait and see” what the minor party did next.

The solicitor-general last week advised the government its troubled housing Bill had officially failed to pass parliament and a second flop would be grounds for a double-dissolution election.

Mr Albanese told Sky News he remained committed to getting the HAFF through parliament but wouldn’t rule out fighting an early election of both houses of parliament over the issue.

“I firmly believe that government should serve their full term, that’s my starting position,” he said.

“But we will wait and see what the Greens political party choose to do.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has put the ball in the Greens’ court. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

The government commissioned the advice from the solicitor-general after the Coalition and Greens voted to defer debate on the HAFF Bill until October 16.

It was the second time the Greens had teamed up with the Liberals and Nationals to delay the legislation after taking similar action in May.

A double dissolution election would risk both Labor’s majority in the House of Representatives and the Greens’ powerful position in the Senate.

It would also mean Australians could vote in the Voice to parliament referendum and to elect the 48th parliament before the end of this year.

The $10bn HAFF was one of Labor’s signature election promises but it is teetering on the brink of failure because the Greens are refusing to support it in its current form.

Mr Albanese and Greens housing spokesman Max Chandler-Mather have been fighting over the issue in parliament. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

The government needs the votes of the Greens and at least two additional crossbenchers to pass legislation through the Senate without the Coalition’s support.

If the Bill passes, it would set up a new investment vehicle to raise money for social and affordable housing projects through the commonwealth Future Fund.

The Albanese government has pledged $10bn in initial investment with a promise of 30,000 new homes to be built over the next five years.

Defying pleas from the community housing sector and the states and territories to pass the HAFF, the Greens are holding out for a nationwide cap or freeze on rent increases.

While the government has made some changes to the policy in an effort to get key crossbenchers on side, Mr Albanese on Sunday tried to portray the Greens’ requests for renters as unrealistic.

Mr Chandler-Mather and the rest of the Greens are calling for action for renters. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Mr Albanese said he was “interested” in “renters’ rights” and was working on the issue with the states and territories through national cabinet.

But he insisted the state premiers and chief ministers were focused on increasing housing supply as “the key to fixing affordability” rather than rent controls.

“I’m sure that if you said to people that free rent should occur, then that would be popular,” he said.

“The job of decision makers is actually to put in place measures that make a difference And all of the advice is that what we need to do is to secure supply.”

The Reserve Bank of Australia is forecasting rents, the biggest contributor to the consumer price index measure of inflation, to grow by another 10 per cent.

Housing Minister Julie Collins on Sunday refused to say whether the government’s rental forecast matched up with the central bank’s prediction.

“Everybody suggests they will go up. There are different views as to what that looks like,” she told ABC Insiders.

“We want to add to supply as quickly possible.”

Ms Collins said the federal government didn’t have the power to deal with a rent freeze under the constitution, with other forms of rent controls such as capping increases up to the states.

After insisting evidence “overwhelmingly” suggested rent caps didn’t work, Ms Collins backed down when she was pressed on the ACT’s price controls, which limit rent increases to inflation plus 10 per cent.

Ms Collins won’t budget on rent control. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Swift

“Well, in some cases it does work, in a little way, but overall the evidence and data shows it doesn't work long-term,” Ms Collins said.

Echoing Mr Albanese’s remarks about renters’ rights, Ms Collins said the government had put the issue on the national cabinet agenda.

Ms Collins added Labor was looking at “every opportunity” to add to the supply of rental properties such as slashing the tax on build-to-rent developments to encourage more investment in the sector.

“We are doing everything we can do to turn this around. It is a very complex thing,” she said.

“If there was a silver bullet, we would have used it by now.”

Labor abandoned its more ambitious housing affordability policies such as limiting negative gearing and halving capital gains tax discounts after its crushing defeat at the 2019 election.

Housing Minister Julie Collins insists the government is focused on increasing housing supply. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Ms Collins was quizzed over whether she stood by comments she made five years ago that “any solution to Tasmania’s housing and rental affordability crisis must include federal reforms to negative gearing and capital gains tax”.

“We’ve had two elections in that interim period. What we’ve been told to do is add to supply,” she said.

“Those things are not on the government’s agenda and we are busy adding to supply and we are doing that at every opportunity we have.”

Greens housing spokesman Max Chandler-Mather fired back later on Sunday when he said: “Actually, rent caps do work”.

“The ACT’s rent caps have seen rents go up by only 0.2 per cent over the last 12 months, while the rest of Australia has copped 10 or 20 per cent rent increases,” he told reporters in Brisbane.

“Greens pressure works. It was the Greens’ pressure that secured $2bn for public housing. And now we’re going to use that pressure to secure real caps and freezes on rent increases.”

Originally published as Anthony Albanese won’t rule out double dissolution election in housing stalemate