Labor slams Housing Australia Future Fund critics

Housing Minister Julie Collins told an industry conference the $10 billion fund was structured to provide an "ongoing pipeline of funding" for social and affordable housing that would be immune to changes in government or shifts in priorities.

"I'm sure many of you have been frustrated by former federal government investments in housing that have been disrupted by changes of government - the sugar hit of a government that prioritises housing followed by cuts when a government with different priorities and policies is elected," Ms Collins said.

"This is exactly why the fund is structured in the way that it is; putting it at arm's length from budget cycles and changes of government."

The deepening crisis over affordable housing, particularly rental accommodation, will provide a sobering backdrop to discussions on housing policy at the the national cabinet meeting on Friday.

The talks on housing between federal, state and territory leaders are expected to centre on the National Housing Accord and the need to boost the supply of new homes.

The accord, which includes the states and territories as well as local government, investors and representatives of the building industry, sets a shared target for the construction of one million homes between 2024 and 2029.

"Reaching that target will depend on everybody working together to identify bottlenecks and resolve delays," Ms Collins said.

But the federal government has so far been stymied in its efforts to have legislation to set up the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) passed.

The bill has been blocked in the Senate and Labor needs the support of the Greens and two crossbenchers to get it passed.

But the stand-off between the government and the Greens over housing policy deepened when Greens leader Adam Bandt slammed Labor's approach and instead called for a national rent freeze - a proposition slammed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as "completely illogical".

The Greens have proposed a $69.4 billion package of reforms including the rental freeze (expected to cost $4.8 billion over three years), $5 billion to build 225,000 publicly-owned homes and $10.9 billion to double rent assistance.

Greens housing spokesperson Max Chandler-Mather said his party was willing to negotiate with the government "in good faith".

"But Labor's current plan for housing gambles $10 billion on the stock market, does absolutely nothing for renters and will see the shortage of social and affordable housing get worse. That's not a plan, it's a disaster," Mr Chandler-Mather said.

"Every day Labor refuses to coordinate a national freeze on rent increases via national cabinet is another day a family will face eviction because they can't afford the rent."

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But, in a thinly-veiled swipe at the Greens, Ms Collins said: "Too often the same people who claim to be the biggest supporters of Australians facing housing challenges are the ones standing in the way of social and affordable housing. But there is nothing progressive about saying no to social and affordable housing."

Independent ACT senator David Pocock said he broadly supported the HAFF but added: "I have been pushing the government for more ambition given the scale of the housing crisis we face.

"Guaranteeing an ongoing supply of new social and affordable housing in perpetuity is absolutely critical. With disbursements capped at $500 million per annum and construction costs rising, the fund will be fully subscribed at, or quite possibly before, building 30,000 homes. This is a start but we need a commitment to further funding."