Big banks and developers would foot the bill for a dramatic boost to Victoria's affordable and public housing stocks under a Greens state election pitch.
Victorian Greens Leader Samantha Ratnam unveiled the party's policy platform for the November poll in a speech to MPs, candidates, organisers and volunteers in Collingwood on Saturday.
The platform centrepiece includes a new plan to build 200,000 affordable and public homes over the next 20 years to ease cost pressures, reduce homelessness and create jobs.
To help pay for it, the Greens have recommitted to their 2018 pledge to impose a 0.015 per cent quarterly bank levy on Victoria's share of bank liabilities that are subject to the federal government's existing bank tax.
The state levy would apply to banks with total liabilities of more than $100 billion from January 1 2023 and Victoria's independent Parliamentary Budget Office estimates it would raise $1.4 billion over the next four years.
Further, the environmentally-minded minor party wants to revive Labor's social housing levy after the proposal was dumped in February following opposition from building industry groups and the coalition.
Developers would be legally required to set aside 30 per cent of all new large developments for first-home buyers to purchase at 80 per cent of the market rate and rent increases capped statewide at annual wage growth, currently 2.5 per cent in Victoria.
Responding to the levy, Victorian roads minster Ben Carroll highlighted the state government's push to build 12,000 new dwellings over four years as part of its Big Housing Build.
"We want to be a government and a project about action, and that's why we're investing over $5 billion in affordable and social housing," Mr Carroll told reporters in Southbank.
"We want to get on and do things. We don't want to be out there talking about things."
Launching Motorcycle Awareness Month, Mr Carroll announced the state government would reintroduce discounted licence renewals for motorists with more than three years of clean demerit records.
The Greens said the government's housing build scratched the surface of the Victoria's housing problem, with almost 55,000 households on the state's public housing waiting list as of the end of March.
"We are in a housing affordability crisis," Ms Ratnam said.
"Need is already outstripping supply and under Labor's plan that problem will get worse, not better."
The Greens garnered 13.7 per cent of the primary vote in Victoria at May's federal election and the party is aiming to build on their total of four MPs across both houses of parliament.
"With more Greens in parliament we can push the next government to go further and faster on housing affordability, climate action and restoring integrity to politics," Ms Ratnam said.
The Victorian opposition is warning Labor will be forced to revisit the social housing levy in the event of a hung parliament, despite promising not to if it wins a third consecutive term in office.
"(Premier) Daniel Andrews will be desperate to stay in power and there is no doubt he will cede to the Greens demands to resurrect this crushing new tax on Victorian families," Shadow Treasurer David Davis said.
Victorians head to the polls on November 26.
