Plan to address housing crisis

As the housing crisis worsens across West Gippsland, the Victorian Socialists party has promised to establish a fair housing system for the Narracan electorate, should they be elected in next month's state election.
"Access to secure, quality housing is a fundamental human right," said Victorian Socialists candidate for Narracan Moss Page of Drouin.
Supporting his party's message on the housing crisis "it doesn't have to be like this" - Mr Page is advocating for a 25 per cent rent cut to all residential tenancies, followed by a five-year rent freeze - theoretically bringing rent back into line with wages.
The biggest housing policy for the Victorian Socialists however, is development of a publicly owned construction firm, with the aim of building 150,000 units in the next decade, to meet the current demand.
"Housing is in the top of the agenda not just for myself but all Victorians Socialists," Mr Page said, "not because it would be easier to tackle but because of the level of crisis that sector is in."
Mr Page said the current lack of housing was the result of allowing housing to be driven "by a property market when it should be a human rights body, that doesn't act as a machine for profits."
"Public housing should be built and managed by workers in the public sector and not corporatised through 'community' or 'affordable' housing schemes," Mr Page said.
He committed to fighting for a mandate that at least 30 per cent of all private developments be converted to public housing, in an ambitious effort to end roughing sleeping across the state within six months.
To further encourage property owners possessing one or more investment properties or empty blocks, Victorian Socialists will tax vacant residential land titles if they secure the election. "It is not just a quantity problem, but a profiting problem" he said on the incentives of developers and contractors, who Mr Page said should have a desire to reduce homelessness.
Likening their policy on de-privatisation to that of the original SEC's success, Mr Page also was vocal that all key sectors, public transport, health, energy, and education, should be publicly owned.
"In the 90s (before SEC privatisation) Victoria produced some of the cheapest power in the world - we need to get our society back to that".
With housing affordability expected to remain a key election issue in Narracan ahead of November's state poll, Mr Page said voters were increasingly looking for alternatives to the current system, and that greater public ownership and investment were necessary to address affordability pressures across the state.