Greens to support Labor's housing bill for Help to Buy and Build to Rent programs.

After months of back and forth, the Greens have finally agreed to support Labor's Help to Buy and Build to Rent bills, which aim to address the ongoing housing crisis. Under the proposed Help to Buy scheme, the government would provide up to 40 percent of the cost for new homes, while the Build to Rent initiative would encourage the development of thousands of new rental properties.

Initially, the Greens had raised concerns and opposed the bills, demanding stricter tax regulations for property investors and stronger protections for renters, such as rent caps. However, after failing to secure these concessions from the government, Greens leader Adam Bandt and housing spokesperson Max Chandler-Mather have decided to "wave through" the legislation.

Bandt acknowledged that there comes a point where one can only push so far, saying, "We tried our best to convince Labor to take action on skyrocketing rents and negative gearing, but unfortunately, we were unable to reach an agreement this time around." However, he also reassured their supporters that they will continue to fight for these issues in the next election and push Labor to address unlimited rent hikes and tax breaks for wealthy property investors.

Chandler-Mather echoed Bandt's sentiments, stating that the Greens had pushed as hard as they could to reach a deal with Labor, but ultimately, they could not make them care enough about the issue. He shared that they were close to implementing significant changes to housing policies that would have greatly benefited hundreds of thousands of renters, but the Prime Minister's reluctance hindered their progress.

Nevertheless, the Greens remain determined to pursue these policies and make them a reality if they win the balance of power in the upcoming minority Parliament election. On the other hand, Housing Minister Clare O'Neil expressed her relief at the Greens' decision but did not hold back in criticizing them for delaying the legislation for almost a year. She pointed out that because of this delay, 10,000 people who could have had their own homes by now are still waiting.

In conclusion, while the Greens' change of heart may have caused some delay, the important thing is that the housing bills will now move forward and hopefully bring some relief to those struggling with the high cost of living. Stay informed with the latest updates on this and other important news stories by downloading the 9News app, available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play.

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