Ms THEOPHANOUS (Northcote): My question is to the Minister for Housing. I ask: what steps are being taken to ensure our big social housing build will deliver homes to people in need that meet the highest levels of energy efficiency and help reduce our state’s reliance on gas? Last year our budget included $5.3 billion to deliver 12 000 new homes. It will change the lives of literally thousands of Victorians. It is also an incredible opportunity to lead the way on residential energy efficiency and propel us to net zero emissions by 2050. This week we released our climate change strategy, setting Victoria up as a leader in emissions reductions. Our record is unmatched. I recently caught up with Darebin Climate Action Now, a local group working to raise awareness around switching from gas. We know building energy-efficient and gas-free homes is the smart thing to do, and in Northcote we have the chance to lead the way with our new social housing sites. My community would welcome hearing about how we are embedding sustainable solutions into our Big Housing Build right here in Northcote.
