- Liberal's major housing commitment includes building 450 homes at the Hobart Showgrounds
- Labor wishes to fast track the construction of 490 affordable homes
- The Greens wish to introduce rent control
Ahead of the Tasmanian State Election, which will be held on Saturday 1 May, The Property Tribune has gathered the views in terms of housing and other policy areas for the three major political parties on the Apple Isle
Liberals
The incumbents have committed to building 450 homes at the Hobart Showgrounds that is expected to cost $42.15 million. Notably, 150 of these homes are designated as social and affordable housing. The Liberals have also activated 7.5 hectares of land which has been allocated towards the development of more housing.
Funding has been committed for twice-weekly flights between Hobart and Strahan, a small town on the island’s west coast. A $100 million loan will also be provided for INCAT to build a new ferry.
$4 million has also been promised to attract workers to the building and construction sectors.
Labor
Labor has committed to fast-tracking 490 affordable homes as part of its Housing Works policy, which is set to cost $37.8 million. A further $17.5 million will be given to Better Living in Social Housing Policy which is set to address the backlog in maintenance for social housing. Over the next decade, Labor has committed to building 8,000 new homes.
In terms of transport, Labor has said it will match the Liberal’s $100 million loan to INCAT and will fast track the purchase of two new Bass Strait Ferries under its $150 million Sea Highway Plan.
$4.15 million has also been allocated towards the civil construction cycle from tendering to delivering projects on time in line with expectations.
500 apprenticeship guarantees for workers over the age of 35 has also been announced, to the tune of $15 million.
The Greens
The Greens have said they wish to introduce a policy for tenants – including rent control – which includes removing the ability to evict tenants on the basis that the lease has expired, standardise tenancy agreements, change rules surrounding pet ownership and increase funding for the Tenants Union and Residential Tenancy Commissioner.
For environmental matters, the Greens wish to increase the annual rate of new PV systems to 4,212 per year by introducing a mandate for all new public housing properties to have a 6kW system. The Greens also aims to gradually retrofit existing public housing with such systems and to provide subsidies to low-income households and rentals for PV system installations.
