Cleeland slams $33 million modular housing announcement as wasteful and misleading

The Nationals Member for Euroa, Annabelle Cleeland, has criticised the joint announcement by the Albanese and Allan Labor Governments of $33 million for 100 new modular homes, describing it as “misleading and poorly planned”.

Ms Cleeland said comments made last Friday by Minister for Natural Disaster Recovery revealed a concerning reality: 60 modular homes, built following previous disasters, were already sitting unused in storage.

“This raises serious and immediate questions about what exactly this $33 million announcement is funding,” Ms Cleeland said.

“If 60 homes are already built and sitting idle, then Victorians are effectively being told this funding delivers just 40 additional homes. That equates to roughly $825,000 per caravan — an extraordinary and frankly indefensible figure.”

Ms Cleeland said the situation points to broader failures in planning, coordination, and accountability within the Emergency Management Victoria’s housing program.

“At a time when families, seniors, and young people across regional Victoria are struggling to secure stable housing, it is simply unacceptable that dozens of completed homes are gathering dust in storage,” she said.

“Every day those homes sit unused is another day a Victorian is without a roof over their head. That is not just inefficient, it is deeply out of touch.”

Ms Cleeland said Victorians were growing increasingly frustrated with what she described as “announcement-driven government,” where headline figures were prioritised over real outcomes.

“This is not just about cost blowouts, it’s about competence and priorities,” she said.

“Victorians expect governments to deliver housing solutions quickly, transparently, and responsibly. What they are seeing instead is millions of dollars being spent while completed homes sit idle and communities continue to struggle.”

Ms Cleeland is calling on both the state and federal governments to provide full transparency on the modular housing program, including a detailed breakdown of costs, clear delivery timelines, and an explanation as to why completed homes remain unused.

“There must be accountability for how this program has been managed,” she said.

“Victorians deserve to know where their money is going, why these homes are not being deployed, and when — not if — this government intends to fix the problem.”

She said without urgent answers, confidence in the government’s ability to deliver meaningful housing outcomes would continue to erode.

“Right now, this looks like a program that is failing the very people it was meant to help,” Ms Cleeland said.