‘Timing couldn’t be worse’: Labor MPs irate over failure to block housing probe

Members of the Allan government are fuming after a minister failed to prevent a damaging parliamentary inquiry into the demolition of 44 social housing towers.

Housing Minister Harriet Shing is under pressure after concessions offered to prevent the inquiry were not enough to stop crossbenchers backing the motion.

Victoria’s ageing social housing towers are in poor condition and at the centre of a political brawl. Credit: Paul Jeffers

As the​ political battle over the cost of living heats up in crucial inner-Melbourne seats​, some in the government fear Labor will be vulnerable to political attack, upending its plans for clear air to spruik its planned assault on the housing crisis.

Three government sources, speaking anonymously to detail internal conversations, said Premier Jacinta Allan’s office was under the impression that the inquiry did not have the numbers to pass.

But on Wednesday, the minister was unable to convince Legalise Cannabis and Animal Justice MPs to vote against the Greens’ plan.

The state government insists it was not blindsided by the move.

One of the government sources said Shing had offered regular briefings and data about the redevelopments until just before the vote in an effort to prevent the inquiry.

But the final decision by key crossbenchers was made minutes before the vote, they said.

Allan is expected to ramp up the government’s focus on housing policy after the Easter break as she seeks to deliver on her promise to address the cost-of-living crunch.

Housing affordability is a top-three concern in public and private polling – particularly in the inner city.

One Labor MP, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters, said the government had been keen to avoid an inquiry that would provide a platform for attacking the government on this front.

In 2023, former premier Daniel Andrews accused the Greens of a scare campaign over the policy after the party said the government was selling public housing land to developers – referring to the fact that private developers will pick up the bill for the rebuild in return for the ability to build market homes on existing sites.

The total number of residents across the 44 sites will triple to 30,000 people, but the increase in social housing residents will be just 1000 people.

Another Labor MP, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said the inquiry “could have been avoided” and would now provide the Greens with 12 months to continue these attacks.

“The timing couldn’t be worse,” they said.

Housing Minister Harriet Shing.Credit: Chris Hopkins

The inquiry hearings will run alongside a federal election campaign, with social housing and affordability key issues in Labor-held seats such as Macnamara and Wills.

The report is expected by December 2025 – less than a year out from the next state election, in which the Greens are expected to target seats such as Northcote, Footscray and Albert Park.

Applications for the social housing waiting list have grown by 10,000 households this decade and average waiting times have blown out by almost six months.

The Allan government has set a target of building 800,000 homes over the next decade – or 80,000 annually.

Victoria has never achieved this. In the 12 months to January, 51,068 were approved – down 17.6 per cent on the same 12-month period a year earlier.

Shing on Friday accused the Greens of using the inquiry as a cheap political attack.

“The Greens motion in parliament this week was a typically self-indulgent exercise in loudly admiring a problem, whilst offering no solution,” she said.

“And it’s not as though they don’t have form – the Greens have blocked social housing development in local government, and have blocked it in the parliament.”

Shing said the towers lacked modern home requirements for room size, ventilation, insulation, accessibility or building and would cost billions to bring to standard.

“Although we’re building thousands of new social and affordable homes across Melbourne that are bright, modern, beautiful and energy efficient – homes to really be proud of – the Greens are effectively saying these homes shouldn’t be available to residents of the towers,” she said.

“It is unfortunate that at no point did housing spokesperson Dr [Samantha] Ratnam, who initiated this inquiry, ever ask me for a briefing on these towers developments.”

But Ratnam, the leader of the Victorian Greens, denied her party hadn’t sought information.

She said they had asked more than a dozen questions about the plan in parliament and received “non-answers”.

Victorian Greens leader Samantha Ratnam.Credit: Wayne Taylor

“The Greens also passed a motion at the end of last year requiring the government to produce all documents relating to this plan – and to date we’ve not seen a single one,” she said.

“When they announced this plan was it a first draft? How can you plan to demolish 44 public housing towers and displace over 10,000 residents and not have any supporting evidence to back it up?

“Our inquiry will give this plan the scrutiny it deserves and hopefully prevent Labor from walking away from public housing for good.”