Regional Australia is experiencing an unprecedented housing crisis.  

Indi is facing a massive housing crisis. In the 35 years I’ve lived in the North East, I’ve never seen anything like it. 

People both young and old, are getting priced out of rentals. Two-income families are struggling to purchase their first house. Elderly people can’t find suitablehomes to live in as they age. Local small businesses want to hire workers but there is no accommodation available close by. I hear these stories everywhere I go in Indi.   

As your Independent MP, I’ve been working with the Government to tackle the housing shortages in regional Australia – and my work continues. 

For regional Australians struggling to find a place to call home, there isn’t a one size fits all solution. 

In Indi there is a serious lack of critical enabling infrastructure needed to open up new land to build more homes. We’re talking about poles and pipes, pavement and parks, drainage and sewerage infrastructure. It isn’t sexy, but it’s critically important.  

In 2023 I introduced my Unlocking Regional Housing Bill to Parliament, which would guarantee dedicated funding for enabling infrastructure in rural, regional and remote Australia.  

If the major parties are serious about tackling the housing crisis, they should back my Bill.  

Councils in the regions can struggle to attract developers to invest in enabling infrastructure, and with a small ratepayer base and large geographical areas to cover, councils simply don’t have the money to build it alone.  

So, I’ve also taken a proposal to the Government to establish a $2 billion Regional Housing Infrastructure Fund which would go a long way in tackling this crisis.

Labor’s Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) was touted as one of the Government’s most significant reforms to housing policy. It was a much-needed start. Yet the legislation the Government introduced did not deliver for rural, regional and remote Australians.  

I successfully amended the Bill to ensure regional Australians were considered in the HAFF’s work.  

More improvements must be made to housing policy so all Australians benefit, not just those living in the big cities.  

Wangaratta has the potential to unlock hundreds of social and affordable homes.  

Nestd, a not-for-profit housing developer, is working with the Rural City of Wangaratta to deliver 200 safe, energy-efficient, quality homes for young people, pensioners, women at risk of homelessness and essential workers, on the former Ovens College site. 

I’ll keep pressuring the Government to fund this project because I’m steadfast in my commitment to delivering more housing for our regional communities.  

There is potential for more innovative housing projects across our region, creating more affordable housing for those who most need it. I will support these projects to help create more housing in our towns.