Mr BAYLEY (Clark) – Deputy Speaker, I rise to give my contribution to the Residential Tenancy Amendment (Pets) Bill 2025 and upfront say we welcome this bill and will support it. As Dr Broad has just said, we have already debated this. There are some changes in this bill, so I’ll keep my contribution relatively brief seeing as we’ve been here before, but I want to acknowledge the Attorney-General for bringing this forward so quickly and welcome that fact. This is something the Greens have campaigned and worked on for a long, long time.
I note that the toppling furniture element of the previous bill we debated in here isn’t as part of this, and I think the Attorney-General has made a commitment to retable that, so if you could maybe confirm that and hopefully we’ll look forward to seeing that at the end of the week.
Of course, pets are incredibly valuable to so many people in our community and deliver so many benefits. Giving renters the rights to have pets in their rentals is a really important reform that many people have called for for a long time. They’re part of the family and they’re incredibly important tools, I suppose, to teach children the value of empathy and the need to care for non-human lives, and of course they make a massive contribution when it comes to our mental health in terms of loneliness of people. They are really important.
Animals, at the end of the day, can help make us healthier, happier, more balanced, and they’re a really important part. In that context, we really welcome the ability for renters to have pets in their rentals. We acknowledge some of the advocacy we’ve had from some of the real estate group and indeed probably some landlords. On balance, we the Greens absolutely believe that this reform is critical, and it will deliver wide benefits across the community.
Of course, it’s not the only reform that needs to happen when it comes to giving renters more rights. Renters have been subject to significant rent increases over many, many years and there is plenty of literature about the out-of-control rent. We do need to see controls over rent and rent increases. We do need to see improvements to minimum standards so that whether it be energy efficiency, whether it be insulation, whether it be the quality of a property and avoiding rising damp or mould impacts. We need to see some responsibilities put onto landlords to make sure that those minimum standards are put in place for our rentals.
Of course, we need to make sure that no-cause evictions are a thing of the past so that a lease or a tenant can’t be evicted simply because their lease ends. There needs to be fairness and equity brought into the picture there so that evictions can only happen if a landlord either wants to move into the property or do major renovations. They are some reforms that need to happen, and we will continue to push for that.
As Dr Broad has said, the Residential Tenancy Act review is going to be a really important mechanism for that. It is slated for 2026, and I understand from the attorney that it’s going to be brought forward to next year. Perhaps, Attorney-General, you could clarify in your summing up exactly what the timelines are on that. Of course, housing more broadly is a real problem and whether it be short-stay accommodation, whether it be the amount of government investment in public and affordable or housing, we need to do more.
We have over 5200 people on the housing waitlist, we have got them waiting 80 plus weeks to be housed, and of that 5200 people, that’s applications. It actually means there are more people, there are more, there are children, there are partners. There are more than 5200 individuals who are waiting longer on that waitlist and that waitlist continues to grow ever longer. Really important that we get reforms in other areas in terms of housing and renters rights.
To the bill, as I say, we support this strongly and have campaigned on this for a long time. I acknowledge civil society groups, organisations such as the Tenants’ Union who have advocated for tenants’ rights for many, many years. We finally saw the Liberals put this policy on the table in the lead up to the 2024 election, which was really welcome. When it was last debated here, we brought in some amendments in relation to assistance animals, in relation to dangerous animals, et cetera. It is good to see that they have been picked up and they are reflected in this bill as well. That’s welcome.
When it comes to that toppling furniture element, which is important and I hope to see on the table later in the week, we had some failed amendments that were going to improve the ability for tenants to make minor modifications in relation to security, in relation to safety, in relation to disability access and other issues. We look forward to seeing that bill. Hopefully, the attorney will actually introduce a more fulsome bill in terms of some of those elements, but if they’re not, we will be sure to be bringing them and moving amendments in relation to them.
Specifically, in terms of this bill. I only have one question, Attorney-General, in relation to clause 36S(4) and the question is real. This is regarding to the owner of residential premises may give conditional consent to a request made under clause 36R(2). Then, as specified in a written consent under (1); if those conditions are agreed to by the tenant.
One of the things we’re unclear about is if the owner of the premises gives conditional consent, but the tenant doesn’t agree with those conditions. What happens then? What actually happens in terms of the resolution of this issue if the tenant doesn’t actually agree to the conditions that the owner of a residential premises builds into his or her consent?
With that, Attorney-General, we Greens support this, we welcome it, and we thank you for bringing it on so quickly in this parliamentary term and, again, acknowledge the many advocates who have pushed for this kind of reform and other reforms over many years. It’s welcome and this will deliver benefits across our community.
