The Australian Labor government’s high-profile affordable housing fund has failed to pass the Parliament’s upper house.
On May 10, Labor attempted to bring a vote in the Senate for the Housing Australia Future Fund; however, the motion was shot down by the Greens and Liberal-National Coalition.
As a result, debate on the housing fund will be paused until the Senate returns in June.
The latest development is a blow to Labor’s ambitious $10 billion fund (US$6.7 billion) that is supposed to address the lack of social and affordable housing across the country, building 30,000 homes over five years.
Under the proposed legislation, the fund will stay in perpetuity, and each year, the government will use its returns to invest in housing across Australia. However, the return amount that can be withdrawn from the fund is capped at $500 million annually….