Residential Tenancies Amendment (Protection of Personal Information) Bill 2025 - Second Reading Speech
I speak briefly in debate on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (Protection of Personal Information) Bill 2025. The Greens spokesperson on renters' rights in the lower House, the member for Newtown, addressed the bill and our support for it in detail. As the Hon. Emma Hurst suggested, I indicate that The Greens also support the reasons for referring the bill to a short, sharp inquiry to look into the issues raised in relation to pets.
This has been an extensive process with a lot of consultation with members of the public and submissions from organisations. It is ridiculous that renters have to hand over so much information, fill out so many forms and hand over licences for every inspection application.
It is reasonably heartening to see that those concerns are being dealt with in the bill before us. We still have a lot of work to do in this State to ensure that we make rental accommodation more affordable. The Greens have been pushing for many of those things, which is not what tonight's debate is about. It is a reasonable bill with various elements that will make it easier for renters in a stressful and sometimes complex process. My colleague will speak to the amendments in the Committee stage.