HELEN Haines has kicked off 2025 with her first policy announcement to boost housing supply in Indi and regional Australia.
Well-established as a vocal advocate for investment into improved infrastructure in rural Victoria, she has now launched her vision for a $2 billion Regional Housing Infrastructure Fund.
Dr Haines continues to lead the national debate on housing infrastructure policy, always pushing to deliver more homes for regional Australians.
“An affordable and secure home sets people up to thrive and build their lives,” Dr Haines said.
“The current housing crisis is making life hard for too many people, holding back the growth of our region and affecting essential service delivery.”
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Dr Haines said the fund would build the paths, poles and the power that must go in before new homes can be built.
“We have the land and the vision, but we need to properly invest in the infrastructure to develop our towns and regional cities.
"Consecutive governments have failed to acknowledge that regional councils and smaller towns struggle to increase their housing supply because of critical infrastructure like sewerage, water and power.
“The economies of scale that work in the cities apply differently in the country, but governments keep ignoring this problem.
“I’m unashamedly ambitious for regions like ours and cannot accept the drip feeding of funding when there are regions desperate for help with basic infrastructure like water connections. It is literally stunting our growth.
“More than a third of people live in regional, rural or remote Australia and it is beyond time we had a dedicated fund that gives us a fair share of regional housing.
“My plan will unlock new housing supply and deliver regional Australia their fair share.”
Pointing to the levels of housing stress in Indi, Dr Haines said enabling infrastructure for new builds was key to reducing stress and addressing workforce shortages across Indi.
“In Indi, more than 40% of renters experience rental stress and more than 60% of homeowners are finding it hard to pay the mortgage and juggle their bills.
“For an entire generation of Australians, the prospect of home ownership – or even finding a secure rental – feels out of reach and unattainable, and this is keenly felt in regional areas. Parents are worried about the financial security for their children in the future.
“We’re losing tens of millions off our local economy each year because there’s nowhere for new workers moving to the regions to live.
"It’s impacting essential services, like nursing, teaching and aged care."
The Regional Housing Infrastructure Fund proposed by Dr Haines builds on sustained advocacy by Dr Haines in this last term of Parliament.
In 2023, Dr Haines introduced legislation to guarantee dedicated funding for enabling infrastructure in regional, rural and remote Australia.
In 2024, Dr Haines introduced an updated ‘Fair Share for Regional Housing Bill’ to make it clear that regional Australia needs a fair share and to centre government action at local governments and community.
Dr Haines has achieved success in amending the Government’s housing legislation to ensure there is a regional voice at the table.
The Government announced the $500 million Housing Support Program to fund enabling infrastructure just weeks after Dr Haines met with the Prime Minister.
The Opposition recently announced it would set aside 30 per cent of its housing fund for regional communities, adopting the policy Dr Haines has long advocated for.
“The work I’ve done in the last two years has reaped rewards in getting a focus on the needs of regional Australia, but we can't stop there,” said Dr Haines.
“We’ve got funding coming through, but I want to see a bigger, long-term vision for ensuring we have housing security and affordability in regional Australia.”
