Labor seeks election brawl over housing as signature bill blocked
Anthony Albanese has hardened his stance on negotiating over housing as he looks to set up an election fight with the Greens and the Coalition.
This week’s stand-off in Parliament over the Help to Buy scheme signals a shift in the Albanese government's priorities from getting legislation passed to setting up an election fight.
Labor lost the vote on its signature housing bill in the Senate on Tuesday afternoon with the Greens, the Coalition and other crossbenchers voting against the scheme to allow Australians to co-invest in a home with the government.
The scheme would see the government provide equity for up to 40% of a property, co-owning that proportion with new homebuyers.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has previously put an emphasis on bills not going down on the floor of parliament, but on Tuesday Labor forced a vote knowing it was going to fail and even raised the prospect of a double dissolution election over the policy.
