If you rent, and you want change, you have to vote for it 

Renting in the City of Melbourne is too expensive and too many politicians are doing nothing about it. 

Over the past few years, rents have continued to increase, forcing people to move out, or even become homeless. 

If we don’t have affordable places to live, how do we expect to maintain the character of who we are, a vibrant, artistic, innovative and diverse place? 

Currently, less than one per cent of rental properties in Melbourne’s CBD are affordable. It has to change. 

We have a housing crisis which is affecting people across Melbourne and the country. 

According to the Housing Advocacy Group “Everybody’s home” four out of five people are in rental stress, paying more than 30 per cent of their income in rent. 

For too long, renters have been ignored by politicians. The entire housing market has been rigged in favour of wealthy property investors with multiple property who want to use it as a way of making a profit, and it’s seen house prices become out of reach for a whole generation of people. 

Renters need to start to vote as a block, in their interests. A third of the country rents. If renters changed how they voted, we could bring down the costs of rents and housing. 

The Melbourne City Council Greens, including Lord Mayor candidate Roxane Ingleton, have a plan to make 30 per cent of new developments in urban renewal areas in the City of Melbourne public and genuinely affordable housing, so that young people, essential workers, and people of all income levels can afford to live in our city. 

The Greens are the only party who have been calling for a rent freeze. Labor refused to back it. 

We also need to better regulate short stay accommodation like Airbnb. 

Renters are hurting, they are often trapped at the mercy of their landlord, unable to do anything about rising rents. 

They can be kicked out with little to no notice and can often struggle to get the necessary improvements to their residences. 

Renters are at their wits’ end. 

But something is happening – renters are collectivising right now like never before. This month, hundreds of renters claimed the streets in Fitzroy to rally against Labor’s abysmal record on renting and housing.

If we’re going to take on Labor and the Liberals’ special treatment for wealthy property developers and wealthy investors, we’re going to need to work together. 

We can’t keep voting for the same two parties and expecting different things to happen. 

If you’re a renter, and you want change, you have to vote for it. •