Solicitor-General brought into housing fracas after Labor claims it has trigger for double dissolution

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has revealed his next steps after one of his biggest election promises failed, with one bombshell option on the table.

The nation’s top solicitor will be brought in to advise on next steps for the $10bn Housing Australia Future Fund after Labor claimed it had been granted the first half of a trigger for an early double dissolution election.

Anthony Albanese flagged the government was seeking guidance from Solicitor-General Stephen Donaghue about reintroducing the HAFF legislation to parliament, saying “we think it is a good policy and very necessary”.

Speaking to ABC Radio Brisbane on Tuesday, the Prime Minister said it was “quite remarkable” the Greens were blocking the HAFF despite claiming to support increased investment in social and affordable housing.

Mr Albanese’s comments come a day after the Greens forced the HAFF legislation into limbo by siding with the Coalition in the Senate to defer any further debate on the Bill until October 16.

The government says it considers the deferral a failure to pass the legislation and a repeat of the action would be enough to trigger a double dissolution election, which would put every senator’s job on the chopping block.

An investment vehicle to raise money for social and affordable housing through the commonwealth Future Fund, the HAFF was one of Labor’s signature election promises but it will fail unless the government can get the Greens on side.

Housing Minister Julie Collins said ‘all options’ were on the table after the Senate delayed voting on the HAFF. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

The government failed in its effort to wedge the Greens by reintroducing the legislation that would set up the HAFF to parliament this week without having reached a deal with the minor party, whose support it needs to pass the Bill through the upper house.

Tensions over the stalemate boiled over in federal parliament again on Tuesday, as the government used question time to spruik its housing policies and attack the Greens for blocking the HAFF.

The Speaker asked Jim Chalmers to withdraw his comments after the Treasurer accused the Greens of forming a “coalition of cookers” with the Liberals and Nationals to veto the HAFF.

“What the Greens have shown in the Senate is that they care more about retweets than renters. They care more about TikTok than housing stock,” Mr Chalmers said.

“When it comes to the crunch … when the Greens had the opportunity to work with the Labor Party to build more social and affordable homes, or decide to side with the Coalition, they chose a coalition of cookers.”

The Greens have brushed off suggestions of triggering a double dissolution election, saying they don’t consider deferring a vote on the HAFF as its failure to pass the Senate.

If the Bill fails again, the government says it could trigger a double-dissolution election. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Instead, the Greens claim the delay gives the federal government time to co-ordinate a freeze on rent increases with all states and territories – despite the government insisting it has no power to do so.

Housing Minister Julie Collins attempted to mask the prospect of the government’s first major policy defeat by suggesting Labor could explore “other avenues” to deliver public housing.

“We’re looking at what options are available to us. You saw that last weekend when we announced our $2bn social housing accelerator,” she told journalists in Canberra on Tuesday.

“What we want to do is get on with building homes. That’s what the Australian people expect us to do.”

Ms Collins would not be drawn on whether the government would be emboldened by the Greens’ actions to call for a double dissolution election.

“What I would say to the senators … is the time for delays is costing people on the ground. This is not about what happens in this place, this is about people on the ground. Australians are doing it tough,” Ms Collins said.

Last enacted in 2016, the double dissolution mechanism is a means of breaking a deadlock if one house of parliament – the Senate, in this case – can’t agree on a piece of legislation.

Senators serve six-year terms and generally face election every second election. The four senators representing the ACT and NT are up for re-election at every general election.

If the government called a double dissolution election, all 76 senators would be up for re-election, instead of the usual 40.

But the move would also risk changing the composition of the House of Representatives, threatening Labor’s majority.

The community housing industry has conveyed its disappointment after the Bill was delayed. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

With the Coalition having ruled out supporting the HAFF months ago, Nationals senator Matt Canavan said he was determined to keep fighting against the Bill even if it meant his job was on the line.

“I say bring it on. Bring on a double dissolution if that is what the government wants,” he told Channel 9 on Tuesday.

“I am more than happy to fight on this issue … This is a government that is spending like drunken sailors while inflation ravages the budgets of Australian families.”

Community Housing Industry Australia chief executive Wendy Hayhurst said she was “disappointed” a vote on the HAFF had been delayed until later this year, warning every day without the legislation having passed was another day many Australians would struggle.

“I think that some people think that we have to set up the fund and then it has to make money and it’s only then that we can start to do the building – that’s not the case,” she told ABC News.