'Bizarre disease', Anthony Albanese hits back at Greens over ongoing blockage of housing bill

In a pre-budget address to the National Press Club, Greens leader Adam Bandt will on Wednesday insist the legal and political power is in federal hands to push the states to fix Australia's rental crisis in the May budget.

He is offering a $69.4 billion package of reforms - more than offset by ending some tax breaks for the wealthy - as the only way the crossbench party will support the bill, which is designed to create a fund to finance the build of 30,000 affordable homes.

The Prime Minister continues to be frustrated by the Greens with its ongoing calls for a national rent freeze. The Greens propose such a freeze be funded by the commonwealth granting the states and territories $4.8 billion over three years for new housing stock.

"It makes me wonder what the Greens party's political and thought processes are," Mr Albanese told reporters in Sydney.

"They are out there giving speeches saying that they want more investment in social and affordable housing and their strategy to do that is to block $10 billion to create a fund for investment in social and affordable housing that is on top of the Commonwealth state housing agreements, on top of all the other investments that the federal government will be making in housing.

"This is completely illogical."

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The Prime Minister did not entertain the details of the Greens offering as a pathway to getting the bill through Parliament before July, which also includes a $5 billion fund to build 225,000 publicly-owned housing and a $10.9 billion proposal to double rent assistance for people on welfare payments.

Instead Mr Albanese focused on the Greens tactics of holding out over the legislation which the government had hoped would be passed in the last sitting of parliament.

Labor needs the support of the Greens and at least two Senate crossbenchers after the Coalition decided to oppose the housing bill.

"I understand that Peter Dutton and the no-alition will vote no because they vote no for everything," the Prime Minister said.

"This is a mob that are addicted to voting no and the Greens position on this show that it is contagious. They have caught this bizarre disease of just saying no to everything without any rational explanation.

"I would say to the Greens political party they're entitled to vote whatever way they want but they will be held to account for it and any of their rhetoric about housing issues will be regarded as just farcical if they vote against this fund."

The entire $69.4 billion Greens' plan over 10 years would be more than offset by a proposal costed by the PBO at $74.1 billion to scrap tax handouts for landlords and wealthy property investors with more than one home, as well as abolish the 50 per cent capital gains discount for individuals for assets held for more than 12 months.