CPSU Vic sent out this email to members:

Perhaps Gillard ought to have never made that promise. The Greens certainly didn't ask her to make it. We need a carbon tax. Most of the OECD have carbon taxes. It is purely the fault of the LNP and the right-wing media that we don't.

"A few extra billion". The entire fund is only $10 billion, so that's substantial. Apparently that's all the government can afford to spend on housing, despite being able to spend $368 billion for a handful of submarines.

Abbott was firmly against any "price on carbon". He made that clear. His government were set on repealing any and all climate action, no matter how palatable, moderate, or inconsequential. Punching left and using the Greens as a scapegoat for regressive changes made by the LNP has become exhausting.

Abbott would have abolished any progressive legislation regarding carbon emissions. Let's not kid ourselves.

The idea that certain goals are unachievable is true until, one day, they are in fact achieved. Medicare was once a pie in the sky too.

As mentioned, they managed to win extra funding for HAFF. They tried to improve the Help to Buy housing bill too, but yes, they failed there sadly. Can't win every battle, unfortunately. They did play ball, though - they tried to negotiate and then eventually voted in support of it.

You could say perfect is the enemy of good, but settling too quickly can also mean missing the chance to fix deeper problems.

Could they have just waved it through sooner? Sure. But their job is to represent their voters and push for stronger, systemic change, especially when the scheme only helps a small fraction of people and risks driving up prices.

The Help to Buy scheme was passed in under a year, not two. The Greens didn’t oppose it outright - they pushed for improvements and broader reforms during negotiations, as they are expected to do as a separate party.

When and where? Source? The Home Equity Access Scheme (formerly known as the PLS) was introduced by the Hawke government in the 1980s. The Greens have had nothing to do with it.

That's simply not true.

The HAFF bill was introduced in March 2023 and passed in September 2023.

No homes were delayed due to the HAFF’s timeline.

The fund wasn’t going to start spending until at least 2024, based on its own design.

Out of curiosity, what sort of pragmatism would you like to see? How would they distinguish themselves from Labor?

Summary of outcomes from Greens pressure regarding HAFF:

Immediate $1 billion for public and community housing through NHIF SAH

Immediate $2 billion to the social housing accelerator fund

Closed the “no minimum spend” HAFF loophole, and forced Labor to guarantee a $500 million annual spend

The Greens are a separate party to Labor. They're not elected just to rubber stamp legislation with no critical evaluation. Voters expect them to negotiate and push for improvements before bills are passed, which is exactly what they did.

Negotiation is a two-way street. The Greens wanted support for renters. What concessions did Labor provide?

Another Liberal Party. It's time to vote for actual left/progressive parties and independents.