Australia news live: Jacinta Allan defends plan to rezone affluent areas saying it will deliver new homes for younger Victorians

Shadow housing minister responds to business call for $10bn housing reform

While on ABC RN, shadow housing minister Michael Sukkar was also asked about calls from the Business Council for a $10bn federal plan to cut the cost of construction. You can read all the details on this below:

The Business Council is calling an increase in foreign workers with construction skills. Sukkar was asked how can the Coalition back this if it wants to cut the number of permanent visas?

Sukkar argued that “you’ve got to reorientate the composition of who you bring in”.

In recent times, we’ve had the Labor party bringing in more yoga instructors than bricklayers … We’ve made clear we’re going to reduce migration to free up 100,000 homes for Australians. Now you can simultaneously ensure that of the generous migration program that Australia does have in place, that you reorientate it to the sorts of skills we need.

The government and the opposition have both promised cuts to migration in response, at least partially, to Australia’s housing crisis. But how much does immigration actually contribute to the cost of housing and rent? You can read more on this below:

Shadow housing minister critical of rollout of Victorian rezoning announcement

The shadow minister for housing, Michael Sukkar, was up on ABC RN this morning to speak on the Victorian government’s rezoning plan, as we flagged earlier:

Sukkar criticised the state government for a lack of consultation with the community and said:

If you’re going to make any of these sorts of investments or changes, you’ve got to consult with the people who are affected now … For people to wake up one morning and read that there’s going to be a 20 story tower next door to them, I don’t think it’s unreasonable that they’re a bit crazy … That’s the first I’ve heard [and] that’s the problem with this announcement, there’s been no discussion with the community.

Classroom mobile ban hailed success by NSW government

The NSW government’s decision to ban mobile phones in thousands of public school classrooms has been hailed a success, AAP reports.

An education department survey of almost 1,000 public school principals found huge support for the ban, with 95% reporting positive results. The premier, Chris Minns, said in a statement today that one year in “it’s clear, this was the right decision”:

Without the distraction of a mobile phone in their pockets, students have been able to focus on their learning, while building stronger relationships with their classmates.

The survey also found 81% of principals agreed students’ learning had improved, 87% said students were less distracted in the classroom and 86% said socialising had improved.

The ban was introduced at the beginning of term four in 2023.

Allan calls out opposition to housing plan

Jacinta Allan said that “Nimby-ism” – aka a “Not In My Back Yard” approach to new housing – was “one way to describe” how opponents to her plan are feeling.

She told ABC News Breakfast that for too long, “too many politicians have not addressed this key fundamental issue which is why we’ve got to this point.”

We’ve got to this point because the loudest voices, who don’t necessarily represent all of the community, have particularly got in the way of building new homes. They’ve been the blockers. They’re particularly Liberal members of parliament, like we saw yesterday in Brighton, and we’ve got Monique Ryan, who is not Liberal. We have residents who are not necessarily Liberal members either.

Yesterday, angry Brighton residents surrounded the pub where Allan announced the housing plan to media, chanting: “Shame, premier, shame.”

Allan said what she would talk to the community about is whether it “makes sense to have taller buildings hugging the train station itself, being close to the train station, and then having lower levels as you move away from the train stations”:

… we’re going to embark on a consultation, community by community, street by street, house by house.

Victorian premier defends housing plan to rezone affluent areas

Bid to avoid post-2032 homelessness in Queensland

There are fears Brisbane could be heading toward a post-2032 Olympic Games homelessness crisis if the next state government does not take action, AAP reports.

The warning comes after a Q Shelter-commissioned Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute report on the Olympics’ impact on homelessness and the local housing market.

Q Shelter’s CEO, Fiona Caniglia, said the “best-case scenario is people will be pushed out to the regions”.

But if you live here now and for reasons that are important to you, like work and family, then we need to create a framework so you can stay, and so you’re not forced to move because of the impact of the games.

Reports will be published annually leading up to the 2032 games to monitor housing market conditions and the responses to homelessness in Brisbane. The aim is to help calibrate policy responses to ensure Brisbane 2032 delivers its intended legacy of social inclusion.

However, Q Shelter said it was not out of the realm of possibility that Brisbane could be the first games host that doesn’t worsen homelessness. This could be done through legacy planning, including repurposing the athletes’ village into social housing.

Treasurer says ‘worst is behind us’ in fight against inflation

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