Latest news with #VictorianLaborParty
Sydney Morning Herald
03-08-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Labor's rank and file demand housing towers remain in public hands
The Victorian Labor Party membership has issued an edict to the Allan government against selling any public land as it knocks down and rebuilds Melbourne's mid-century housing commission towers. Debate over how to best to redevelop the high-rise sites will shift from the weekend's Labor state conference to federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers' Economic Reform Roundtable in two weeks' time, where housing advocates will push for tax changes to stimulate government investment in public housing. The state conference on Sunday passed a resolution calling on the Victorian government to retain public ownership of all land across the housing commission tower sites and lobby Canberra to create a GST exemption for materials and services used to build and maintain public housing. The proposed tax reform, which would also extend Commonwealth Rent Assistance to public housing tenants, is intended to arrest a 30-year-slide in the supply of public housing stock, which is being replaced by community housing where not-for-profit landlords can charge higher rents. Labor for Housing advocacy group co-convenor Julijana Todorovic said state governments, including in Victoria, needed to build more public housing alongside community housing, and were pressing for the tax changes to remove what she described as a 'public housing penalty'. Loading 'The reality is because of federal government taxation settings, it is far more economical for state governments to build community housing than it is public housing,' she told the conference. 'The federal government is penalising public housing tenants and their provider, the state, purely for being public. We say this is wrong.' Victorian Minister for Housing and Building Harriet Shing, speaking to this masthead on the sidelines of the conference, confirmed that tax arrangements for both forms of social housing were part of ongoing discussions with Canberra.
The Age
03-08-2025
- Business
- The Age
Labor's rank and file demand housing towers remain in public hands
The Victorian Labor Party membership has issued an edict to the Allan government against selling any public land as it knocks down and rebuilds Melbourne's mid-century housing commission towers. Debate over how to best to redevelop the high-rise sites will shift from the weekend's Labor state conference to federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers' Economic Reform Roundtable in two weeks' time, where housing advocates will push for tax changes to stimulate government investment in public housing. The state conference on Sunday passed a resolution calling on the Victorian government to retain public ownership of all land across the housing commission tower sites and lobby Canberra to create a GST exemption for materials and services used to build and maintain public housing. The proposed tax reform, which would also extend Commonwealth Rent Assistance to public housing tenants, is intended to arrest a 30-year-slide in the supply of public housing stock, which is being replaced by community housing where not-for-profit landlords can charge higher rents. Labor for Housing advocacy group co-convenor Julijana Todorovic said state governments, including in Victoria, needed to build more public housing alongside community housing, and were pressing for the tax changes to remove what she described as a 'public housing penalty'. Loading 'The reality is because of federal government taxation settings, it is far more economical for state governments to build community housing than it is public housing,' she told the conference. 'The federal government is penalising public housing tenants and their provider, the state, purely for being public. We say this is wrong.' Victorian Minister for Housing and Building Harriet Shing, speaking to this masthead on the sidelines of the conference, confirmed that tax arrangements for both forms of social housing were part of ongoing discussions with Canberra.
AU Financial Review
03-08-2025
- Politics
- AU Financial Review
Back-room silence a sign of Labor shift on Israel
At the end of a long day in which 600 Victorian Labor Party faithful gathered for their annual state conference, debate turned to the protracted Israel-Gaza war. Emotions ran high as Labor Friends of Palestine urged their comrades to support calls for the federal government to end all military ties with Israel and extend sanctions to the entire Netanyahu government.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Labor admits trust damaged after surviving voter revolt
Labor has narrowly escaped an embarrassing state by-election loss as a long-time state government concedes it must win back voters' trust. The Victorian Labor Party claimed victory in the Werribee by-election on Friday after candidate John Lister extended his margin when more returned postal votes were counted. The Liberals subsequently conceded defeat. At last count, Mr Lister had received 50.71 per cent of the vote on a two-candidate-preferred basis compared to Liberal pick Steve Murphy with 49.29 per cent. Despite the win, Labor's primary vote in Werribee, in Melbourne's outer west, has slumped 16.5 per cent. The party has held the seat since 1979, most recently through former treasurer Tim Pallas whose resignation forced the vote. Mr Lister, a local teacher and Country Fire Authority volunteer, was unsure whether the revolt from Labor's support base was a by-election aberration or if the seat would remain marginal in the future. "I don't have a crystal ball," he said. Congratulations John Lister – the new Labor Member for Werribee!John has served Werribee as a teacher and a CFA volunteer – now, he'll represent the community he loves in Victoria's Parliament. — Victorian Labor (@VictorianLabor) February 14, 2025 Transport Infrastructure Minister Gabrielle Williams said by-elections were tough on incumbents, suggesting the average swing was about 13 per cent. "Our focus now has to be on demonstrating that we've heard the message, on being out there and delivering and winning back that trust," she said. Labor knocked on about 20,000 doors during its campaign to save the seat. "We've heard the message from voters loud and clear," Mr Lister said. The state Labor government is on the nose after more than a decade in power, recent polls show. A Resolve poll from early-December and mid-January showed Labor's primary vote had plummeted to a record low of 22 per cent - enough to end its reign if replicated at the next state election in November 2026. The by-election was the first electoral test for Premier Jacinta Allan and Liberal leader Brad Battin since each respectively took over from Daniel Andrews and John Pesutto. Ms Allan did not turn up to Werribee to congratulate Mr Lister in person on Friday but he said they had been in touch by phone. The Victorian Liberal leader took aim at the premier's no-show, claiming she was a "problem" for the Labor brand. Mr Battin maintained the by-election result sent a strong message to Labor that it could not keep neglecting Melbourne's west. "I'll assure all those out in Werribee, all those out in the west, that we will continue to fight and work with them," he said. An official result is expected to be announced by the state electoral commission after preference distributions are finalised. Election analysts have cautioned against people reading too much into the implications of the swing away from Labor ahead of the federal election, which must be held by May 17. The vote in Werribee was held on the same day as another state by-election in the inner eastern electorate of Prahran. Liberal candidate Rachel Westaway came out on top of Greens hopeful Angelica Di Camillo. The seat had been held by the Greens since 2014, with the vote prompted by the resignation of Sam Hibbins after he revealed an affair with a staffer. The Greens blamed the loss on absentee votes not being allowed and lost preferences after Labor chose not to run a candidate.
