The Nationals Member for Euroa, Annabelle Cleeland, has slammed the Labor Government for falling a staggering 20,000 homes short of their own housing target in 2024, leaving regional communities once again out in the cold.
“Labor promised 80,000 new homes a year, but didn’t even come close to reaching this target,” Ms Cleeland said.
“Victorians, particularly in regional areas, are feeling the consequences of Labor’s mismanagement, broken promises, and hollow press releases.”
Australian Bureau of Statistics data released this week confirms that only 60,151 homes were completed in 2024, far below the benchmark needed to meet Labor’s decade-long goal of 800,000 new homes by 2034.
Meanwhile, Recent figures from Homes Victoria show a record 55,024 applications on the state’s housing waitlist, a number far higher than any of the previous three quarters.
“This is a Premier who claims housing is a top priority, yet under her leadership, Victoria continues to fall further behind,” Ms Cleeland said.
“Regional families, renters and first-home buyers are being let down while Labor stumbles from failure to failure.
“Waitlists of more than two years for social housing and people fleeing family violence show that these failures are hurting our most vulnerable residents too.”
Despite claims of improvement by Labor, Ms Cleeland said that approvals and construction starts remain sluggish, compounding the problem for regions already battling chronic housing shortages.
“We’ve seen consistent failures from this government to deliver housing projects in a timely manner – with the Benalla West development a prime example of an over-budget and delayed project that has displaced local residents as others are left waiting for new housing,” Ms Cleeland said.
“Meanwhile, the entire Strathbogie Shire continues to be ignored and excluded from Big Build projects – preventing growth in towns like Euroa, Avenel, Violet Town, and Longwood.
“Labor can’t manage money, they can’t manage housing, and now they can’t even meet their own targets.
“Regional Victorians deserve better than this ongoing neglect.”
Ms Cleeland renewed calls for real investment in regional housing, planning reform, and local infrastructure to help communities keep pace with demand.
