‘Extreme anti-car ideology’: Labor vows to take bigger garage laws to election as bill parked
Premier Peter Malinauskas has vowed to take Labor’s push for new homeowners to be forced to build bigger garages to the State Election after his parking plan was scuttled. The Opposition branded the move “a full-blown dummy spit”.
Labor is doubling down on its push to make it mandatory for new houses to include larger garage spaces after claiming the Greens and Liberals threatened to gut the bill.
Premier Peter Malinauskas today announced the government had parked its Statutes Amendment (Vehicle Parking and Urban Renewal) Bill 2025, which was due to be voted on in the upper house this week.
He criticised the Opposition, “who want to suck up to developers,” and the Greens for rejecting changes that the government claimed would have meant the largest passenger and utility vehicles sold in Australia could be parked with sufficient width to open driver and passenger doors without hitting garage walls.
The bill would have made it mandatory for one-bedroom dwellings to have one vehicle park, while dwellings with two or more bedrooms would need to have at least two vehicle parks. Minimum dimensions for off-street vehicle parking areas would also be increased.
Liberal Party members put a brake on the government’s bid this week, lodging amendments in parliament that would reduce the mandatory size of garages to three metres by 5.4 metres.
“They surely haven’t driven down suburban streets where they are so clogged up you can’t get your car down there, let alone in a garage,” Malinauskas said at a press conference on Thursday morning, declaring the government’s intentions to take it to the next election.
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“We reject some of the submissions that have been made by developers, who just want to make more money. We reject this idea from the Greens that no one is going to have cars in the future; people are going to have cars, and they need to have garages that can fit the car.
“The Libs, who want to suck up to developers, we’re going to do something about it.”
Labor’s bill sparked controversy, leading to an unusual alliance between the SA Greens and the development sector, with warnings that the changes would “entrench car reliance” and essentially create a “car parking tax” on the cost of building in the midst of a housing crisis.
“Having a car parking tax essentially, adding to the cost of building and hitting housing affordability in the middle of a housing crisis, is just not the right approach,” UDIA SA chief executive Liam Golding told InDaily earlier this week.
“I think that it’s fundamentally the wrong approach to be creating legislative and regulatory red tape at a time when we just want to be delivering housing supply as quickly as possible.”
SA Greens leader Robert Simms welcomed the government turning the bill into an election issue, saying: “This bill being parked is a win for the Greens, our environment and common sense. We’ve been steadfast in opposing this for months.”
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“This bill would have hiked up house prices, further entrenched car reliance, increased carbon emissions and compounded congestion. It would have made the housing and climate crises worse.
“The government says this bill will now become an election issue. Bring it on. I welcome the opportunity to focus on housing affordability and public transport during the election campaign. These are issues Labor has botched this term.”
Housing and Urban Development Minister Nick Champion said, “We have heard the feedback that we need to get parked cars off our streets and back on driveways or in garages. This is exactly what our reforms would do.”
“We have worked carefully on striking the right balance with this Bill, and we have landed on a sensible policy that will make a difference,” he said.
“However, the legislation would be rendered completely redundant because of tinkering by the Liberals, unwilling to entertain even sensible reforms and the Greens’ extreme anti-car ideology.”
Shadow Housing Minister Michelle Lensink described the government’s decision as a “full-blown dummy spit”.
“Labor has refused to accept even the most sensible amendments – amendments that would have genuinely improved affordability for first home buyers,” Lensink said.
“The Liberal Party has never stood in the way of the government delivering its election commitments – we simply put forward practical changes to strengthen the legislation.
“What we’ve seen instead is a full-blown dummy spit from Labor. Instead of being prepared to debate the amendments, this arrogant Government is treating the Legislative Council like a rubber stamp.”
