The housing policy divide has widened between Victoria’s major parties, with Opposition Leader Jess Wilson rejecting Premier Ben Carroll’s big-ticket election promise to directly intervene in the market and build new homes for first-time buyers.
The government will on Thursday announce that the Arden Central renewal project in North Melbourne will be reserved almost exclusively for first-home buyers, with 74 per cent (4000 of 5400) of the planned new dwellings to be set aside for people trying to enter the market.
The “Swing City” concept, the first of its kind in Victoria, is the centrepiece of Labor’s $1 billion pitch to build 25,000 houses and apartments specifically for first-home buyers on government-owned sites across Melbourne and in regional centres.
“What we’ve announced today is about government being a disruptor and showing how we can work, particularly for first-home buyers, that we will actually enter the market,” Carroll told the Melbourne Assembly forum co-hosted by The Age on Wednesday.
“That is about reaching in and saying ‘we’re here to help you. We want to work with you and help you get your foot in the door into the housing market’.”
However, the plan was greeted with scepticism by Wilson, who said the private sector was better placed to build houses, and the government should focus instead on reducing the tax and regulatory barriers making commercial housing projects financially unviable for developers.
“We’ve heard a lot of big promises from this government when it comes to housing,” she told the same forum. “The housing statement was released in late 2023 and that promised 80,000 new homes each and every year. We’ve got less homes being built today than we did a decade ago.”
Under Labor’s plan, developer Hamton and superannuation giant Hostplus will build the 5400 new homes in North Melbourne, which will cater to first-home buyers, families and essential workers, including 10 per cent set aside for affordable housing.
As previously revealed by The Age, Live Nation will build a 5000 capacity stadium for live music at the precinct, fitting with the area’s promised appeal for younger Victorians.
“Arden Central will be a precinct designed for the community and the visitors it will attract, with green space, sport and recreation, retail and live entertainment all on the doorstep, and a new Metro station connecting it to the rest of Melbourne,” Housing Minister Nick Staikos said.
The focus of Labor’s policy is to allow greater density development, including high-rise apartments close to train stations, throughout Melbourne’s established middle suburbs.
The opposition’s competing policy is largely based around the expansion of the CBD zone, and will allow high-rise developments to spread across inner-city suburbs like Parkville, Collingwood and Fitzroy.
“The expansion of the capital city zone will be transformational for Melbourne’s CBD,” Wilson told Melbourne Assembly. “But we also acknowledge that we do need to be building more homes in established areas.”
If elected next month, the Coalition would scrap Labor’s activity centres, fast-track greenfield developments and cut property taxes.
Activity centres – dedicated zones allowing for higher-density in middle suburbs – have faced fierce pushback from communities who have been stripped of legal rights to object against higher-density developments.
Labor argues too many established areas were shutting out Victorians, and warned scrapping activity centres would wipe 300,000 homes from the state’s long-term supply.
The government also introduced changes to townhouse and low-rise codes, allowing multiple low-density properties to be built on a single suburban block, more easily.
The political split over Labor’s proposed first-home buyer scheme was mirrored across the property industry. While the Housing Industry Association and Urban Development Institute of Victoria both welcomed the plan, the Property Council of Victoria, which represents property developers and housing companies, said it reflected a “sad state of affairs”.
Simon Croft, from the Housing Industry Association, said the policy unlocked significant land for new homes and had the major benefit of connecting it to key infrastructure like roads and water piping.
“Builders often tell us that getting this key ‘last mile’ infrastructure is what holds many projects back from being delivered in a more timely fashion, today’s announcement is a key plank in addressing that,” he said.
Urban Development Institute of Australia chief executive Linda Allison agreed it was pleasing to see a focus on addressing infrastructure, but urged the government to also “reduce red tape … to maximise taxpayer value for money”.
The Property Council’s policy and advocacy executive Matthew Kandelaars said the proposed policy highlighted how excessive taxes and regulations had essentially shut out developers.
“While unlocking government land for housing is welcome, we cannot rely on taxpayer-funded projects alone to solve Victoria’s housing shortage,” Kandelaars said.
The policy does not include any mandate for social housing – rentals owned and run by the government or not-for-profits reserved for low-income tenants.