Greens’ housing blitz targets ALP seats

The Greens are preparing to launch a nationwide door-knocking blitz targeting Labor-held seats to pressure the government during negoti­ations over its signature housing policy.

Greens housing spokesman Max Chandler-Mather. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

The Greens are preparing to launch a nationwide door-knocking blitz at the end of the month targeting Labor-held electorates in a bid to pressure the government during negoti­ations over its signature housing policy.

The campaign comes as part of a wider tactical shift inside the party to use national campaigns outside the electoral cycle to apply political pressure to get concessions during negotiations with the government.

The Australian understands the party is hoping to duplicate its success of last year’s door-knocking campaign that saw Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather deliver one of the biggest election upsets with a win over Labor’s environment spokeswoman Terri Butler in the south Brisbane seat of Griffith.

Greens housing spokesman Mr Chandler-Mather said Labor needed “to realise that what happened in Griffith will happen in seats across the country” unless it agreed to invest billions of dollars in public and affordable housing and co-ordinate national rent controls. “We aren’t going away, and we will not stop knocking on doors until we force Labor to finally take the housing crisis seriously,” he said.

“Labor MPs around the country will need to explain to constituents why they support spend­ing $15bn a year in tax concessions for property investors but can’t find $5bn to invest ­directly in public and genuinely affordable housing every year.

“There are hundreds of people across the country signing up to volunteer … more will join every day until Labor wakes up to the scale of the crisis.”

A flyer produced by the Greens to distribute as part of their nationwide door knocking blitz targeting Labor-held electorates.

A flyer produced by the Greens to distribute as part of their nationwide door knocking blitz targeting Labor-held electorates.

The national housing campaign comes amid stalled negotiations over the $10bn Housing Australia Future Fund, which is designed to build 30,000 social and affordable houses.

Labor has so far failed to win upper house support from the Greens, who are demanding it increase its spend by $4.5bn annually. The Australian understands the minor party is still waiting for Labor to make a counter offer on key demands to increase housing investment under the fund and freeze rents.