The ACT government is failing to abide by its own rules created in the fallout of the Land Development Agency scandal in not setting affordable housing targets, Greens crossbencher Caroline Le Couteur has warned.
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Housing affordability will be a dominant issue when the ACT Legislative Assembly resumes on Tuesday.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr has hinted at measures to help first home-buyers in the government's mid-year budget review, set to be handed down on Tuesday.
But the ACT Greens have accused the government of failing to comply with the rules it set down when it shut down the controversial Land Development Agency last year.
Ms Le Couteur said the legislation that established the two replacement agencies, the City Renewal Agency and Suburban Land Authority, requires the government to set targets for a minimum percentage of affordable, community and public housing in new suburbs and areas where the City Renewal Agency or Suburban Land Authority are involved in urban renewal.
However Ms Le Couteur said those targets have not been forthcoming.
"Thanks to the Greens, affordable housing targets are part of this legislation. The government is now required to act. It is concerning that this legislative requirement has not been progressed," Ms Le Couteur said.
"As yet the government has been unable to provide an answer as to when they will set affordable housing targets."
The targets are also part of the Greens' power-sharing deal with Labor and Ms Le Couteur probed the government about them in the chamber last September.
At the time, Housing Minister Yvette Berry said the targets would be set via a disallowable instrument but did not specify a timeline.
Ms Le Couteur said the affordable housing targets should be a "priority" for the City Renewal Authority and the Suburban Land Agency.
"The government is working on an affordable housing strategy, however setting targets for affordable, community, and public housing can be done independently of this process, and should be actioned as a matter of urgency," Ms Le Couteur said.
"There's no silver bullet to fix the housing crisis. That said, the ACT government must act to urgently increase the supply of affordable rentals and public and community housing."
The Canberra Liberals will also up the pressure on the government over its increases to rates.
Canberra Liberals leader Alistair Coe will table a petition with thousands of signatures, calling on the government to reverse its methodology for calculating ACT strata rates.
Owners of units and apartments experienced huge increases to their rates bill last year, after ACT Treasury began calculating unit rates based on the land value, then dividing that total by the number of units, replacing the previous formula that divided the land value by number of units, then calculated individual rates.
The Liberals last month accused the Greens of "blatant hypocrisy" over their calls for action on affordable housing.
"There is no doubt that the Greens are every bit as responsible as ACT Labor for the financial suffering many Canberrans are experiencing," Mr Coe said at the time.
"At every opportunity, the Greens have voted with Labor to slug Canberrans more and more."
The Liberals are also set to table legislation on another of their "integrity measures" announced in last year's budget reply.
This bill will require all government land acquisitions of a certain calibre to be reported to the Assembly's public accounts committee, of which Mr Coe is a member and Liberal Vicki Dunne is chair, for extra scrutiny.
Meanwhile Chief Minister Andrew Barr will deliver his priority statement for the year, which will include an update on the rollout of Chromebooks to students in public high schools and colleges, the second stage of light rail and city renewal.
The newest member of the Canberra Liberals, Candice Burch, is due to deliver her inaugural speech.
