Anthony Albanese and Daniel Andrews foreshadow Victorian Airbnb levy

The joint press conference came as a short stay accommodation boss warned a levy would put a $1.5bn industry and almost 10,000 jobs at risk.

Anthony Albanese and Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews make a housing announcement at Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Building on Tuesday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nicki Connolly

Anthony Albanese and Daniel Andrews have announced two ­vacant public housing towers in Melbourne’s inner north as the site of the first project to be built under national cabinet’s social housing accelerator fund, ahead of a major housing policy overhaul expected to be unveiled by the Andrews government as soon as Wednesday.

The Prime Minister and Premier held a press conference at ­Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Building on Tuesday, overlooking two 1960s red brick public housing towers in Carlton, which will be demolished next year, replacing 196 “uninhabitable” dwellings with 231 modern ones.

The housing units will form part of the 769 homes Victoria will deliver as part of the social housing accelerator project, using $500m in federal funding.

Mr Andrews took the opportunity to foreshadow his government’s own housing policy statement, which is expected to be unveiled as soon as Wednesday, after state cabinet held meetings on Monday and Tuesday to sign off on it.

“There’ll be further announcements about housing supply made later on this week … We’ll be back before you quite a bit over the next few days and weeks making lots of announcements,” the Victorian Premier said.

One of the key reforms is expected to be a statewide levy of up to 7.5 per cent on short-stay accommodation provided via platforms such as Airbnb and Stayz.

Stayz senior director of government and corporate affairs Eacham Curry told The Australian short-term letting was “neither the cause of, nor the solution to” the housing affordability crisis.

“While short-term letting has a small impact on amenity, its ­impact is otherwise negligible around the drivers for affordability and availability,” Mr Curry said.

“The greatest single drivers are a lack of investment in social housing stock and planning at council level in reducing affordable housing stock. Even if you turned over all of the short-term letting properties tomorrow, it wouldn’t go near scratching the surface on the requirement.

“The kinds of properties Stayz lets are not at a price point for ­affordable housing, nor are they in locations where the housing need is greatest.”

Asked whether a consumer-facing levy would help solve the rental crisis, Mr Albanese said short stay accommodation was “an issue”.

“Airbnb is an issue. In my electorate, it’s an issue because you have problems of accessing rentals. So I’m very conscious of the pressure that is placed on communities,” he said.

“So it’s not surprising that governments are having a look at this, and I know that is something that has been considered by anyone who looks at the housing issue with regard to housing supply.”