Anthony Albanese’s disdain for this Max Chandler-Mather, 31, is written all over his face

There is no love lost between the Greens’ outspoken housing spokesman, Max Chandler-Mather, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Mr Albanese famously referred to the 31-year-old member for the inner-Brisbane seat of Griffith and rent control campaigner as ‘a joke’.

Meanwhile, other senior members of the Labor party have described him as a ‘self-indulgent student politician’, a ‘moron’ and ‘egotistical’.

Photographs captured on the floor of the House of Representatives after a particularly heated clash in June show Mr Albanese’s disdain for his political rival.

On Monday, Mr Chandler-Mather and his party revealed they’d squeezed an extra $3billion out of the government on its historic housing reforms policy – after a lengthy standoff over one of the ALP’s signature reforms. 

‘Sit up and pay attention,’ Mr Chandler-Mather said. 

‘When we stay at the negotiating table we get outcomes… (this is) proof that Greens in balance of power can drag Labor kicking and screaming to taking meaningful action. 

‘If we praise the Labor party for offering crumbs, that’s all we’ll get.’ 

Up until 2013, Mr Chandler-Mather sang a very different tune – given he was once a Labor activist himself. 

He was a member of Labor’s left during his time at the University of Queensland. Both of his parents were also members, and reportedly encouraged him to join.

He worked for the trade union United Voice, before going on to become a union organiser for the National Tertiary Education Union after graduating. 

Mr Chandler-Mather left the party in 2013. 

In 2022, he spoke out about the decision, claiming he could not remain in a party willing to maintain offshore detention facilities in Nauru under Kevin Rudd.

‘I left the ALP in 2013 for the same reason many people stopped voting for them.  They have abandoned their principles, won’t fix the rigged system and have no vision for a better life for all Australians,’ he said in promotional material for the Greens.

With the Greens’ support, Labor finally secured the votes to pass its Housing Australia Future Fund – the landmark housing policy the ALP brought to the last election. 

The policy aims to build 30,000 social and affordable homes over five years, including 4,000 dwellings for women and children experiencing domestic violence. 

The primary concern from both Greens and independents was that the bill does not go far enough to ease pressures on the exploding housing market.

To secure the Greens support, the government has committed a further $3billion in immediate spending to boost social and public housing.

At the last election the Prime Minister’s promised to the Australian public he would assign $10billion to a fund to build 30,000 homes nationwide. 

That money would be invested and all returns – up to $500 million per year – would be spent on building the new properties. 

The new amendments have guaranteed an annual spend of $500million from 2024 regardless of investment returns.

The government will also spend $1billion immediately on public and community housing, and has committed a further $2billion to social housing.

The Greens, spurred by Mr Chandler-Mather – who himself is a renter – are still calling for a nationwide rent freeze, a measure which economists say could be problematic in the long term. 

While they’ve agreed to the policy without securing such rent control concession, Mr Chandler-Mather and Greens leader Adam Bandt say it is still on their radar.

Mr Bandt said: ‘Pressure works. Labor said there was no more money for housing this year and we pushed them to find $3b.

‘Renters are powerful and the Greens are the party of renters. We have won more money for housing for renters, and rent control is next.

‘I say this to Labor: if you continue to ignore renters, your political pain has just begun. There are several more significant bills on the immediate horizon where the Greens will use our position in balance of power to push the government to address soaring rents with a freeze and cap on rents.’ 

Mr Albanese and Labor have accused Mr Chandler-Mather of whipping up outrage over housing for his own political ambitions.

The PM said: ‘Vulnerable people should not be the collateral damage in your manufactured political conflict.’ 

On the last sitting day before the midwinter break, following a particularly tense discussion on the HAFF, Mr Albanese reportedly said ‘you’re a joke, mate’ as he left the chamber.

Earlier that month, Foreign Minister Penny Wong was prompted to withdraw comments she made in the Senate aimed at Mr Chandler-Mather.

She said: ”this man’s ego is more important than housing for women fleeing domestic violence and all the women at risk of homelessness.’

And Senator Tim Ayres also withdrew comments describing the first-term MP as ‘a self-indulgent student politician’.

Interjections made in the House of Representatives as Mr Chandler-Mather delivered a tearful, impassioned speech about renters’ rights on May 10 were reportedly so severe complaints were made.

Independent Helen Haines and the Liberal National Party’s Michelle Landry have both described the treatment of Mr Chandler-Mather as the worst they’ve ever seen in parliament.

Ms Haines was elected in 2019, and Ms Landy a decade ago in 2013.

During the speech, an unnamed Labor MP appeared to shout: ‘sit down, moron’.

Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley also called for more respectful debate last week, expressing concern and discomfort over the ‘bullying of a first term MP’. 

But Mr Chandler-Mather says he is unsurprised and not bothered by the frosty relationship he shares with the government. 

‘The name calling and personal insults aren’t surprising from Labor,’ he said.

‘It’s how you’d expect a party that ultimately serves the interests of property developers and banks would react to people demanding we cap rents or spend enough on public housing to house everyone.’

Mr Chandler-Mather said his party would not ‘stop fighting for renters just because the PM makes some silly insults’. 

‘That’s not pressure. Real pressure is choosing between paying the rent or feeding your kids. And that’s who the Greens are fighting for.

‘Renters make up one third of Australia, and deserve to have their interests fought for.

‘Labor is trying to wash its hands of any responsibility to represent renters or people in need of public or affordable housing.’

Mr Chandler-Mather, who is the member for the inner Brisbane seat of Griffith, has been scathing of the Labor government over its housing policies – including rental assistance – on social media, raking in millions of views.

He has used TikTok to reach a younger audience, many of whom would be directly impacted by the lack of affordable housing in Australia.

His clips break down how Labor is spending taxpayer dollars and answer questions in real time about the biggest political stories of the day.

Experts are anticipating Australia will need an additional 650,000 affordable housing options in the next five years to keep up with demand.

Sydney house prices have plunged by 14.7 per cent during the past year but they had surged by 27.7 per cent during the pandemic, a level well beyond the 3.3 per cent annual increase in wages when Reserve Bank interest rates were at a record-low of 0.1 per cent.

Australian household debt levels make up 188 per cent of income, compared with 68 per cent during the late 1980s.

The American Demographia think tank regards Sydney as the world’s second most unaffordable city, when house prices were compared with incomes, after Hong Kong.

Melbourne was the ninth least affordable market in the world, having a median house price of $897,222, based on CoreLogic data for February 2023.

Adelaide was 14th, having a median house price of $694,653, while Brisbane was 15th, with a mid-point house price of $767,781.