“I think it’s pretty awful to threaten Australians with an early election because of a policy that doesn’t stack up,” she said at a press conference in Adelaide.

TheGreens teamed up with the Coalition and One Nation in June to defer a vote on the bill in the Senate until October 16. A failure to pass the bill a second time could trigger a double dissolution,in which the House and all seats in the Senate are up for grabs.

“The way in which you rule out having a double-dissolution election is to not have triggers. That’s the way that you rule it out. I want this legislation to be passed. I can’t be more serious,” Albanese told a press conference alongside an affordable housing provider in Brisbane on Friday.

“We don’t want to play politics with this,we want this to build additional social housing. That’s what we’re about making a difference.”

The proposed $10 billion investment fund would provide $500 million annually to build social and affordable housing. The government had said it would be used to build 30,000 social and affordable homes in the fund’s first five years.

The federal government has rejected theGreens’ demands for $5 billion annually for social and affordable housing and a rent freeze,and knocked back a later offer to pass the bill for $2.5 billion in social housing.

On ABC Radio Brisbane,Albanese ruled out the possibility of staging an election this year,while later telling the press conference he did not “anticipate” one,and also urged the Senate to bring on debate over the bill.

University of NSW constitutional law expert George Williams said once the threshold for a double dissolution had been crossed,the prime minister could legally keep the option “in his back pocket” until January 2025 – six months from the expiry of the term of the current House of Representatives.

An election called under the normal process could be held as soon as August next year.

Chandler-Mather said Albanese had committed a “desperate act” and was increasingly isolated even within the Labor movement after the Construction,Forestry,Maritime,Mining and Energy Union called for a Greens-style tax on major corporations to fund housing supply,while Victoria floated the possibility of rent control.

“They are telling the public they would rather force the country back to another election rather than spend just an extra $2.5 billion a year on public housing and limit rent increases,” he said.

The war of attrition has frustrated crossbench senators eager to boost housing supply,with Tyrrell on Friday saying she did not want the opportunity lost “because the Greens are feeling sensitive”,adding that Labor’s bill was a “damn good place to start” in fixing the housing crisis.

Australian National University’s Ian McAllister,a professor in political science,said a double dissolution would make it easier for minor parties to get elected as the threshold was half that of a normal half-Senate election.

“It’s a double-edged sword[for the government],” he said. “You’re risking with a substantial minor party or independent vote in the Senate[a situation] that you simply couldn’t get your legislation through anyway.”

Chandler-Mather said he would leave it to Labor strategists to work out what would happen in that scenario,however,a Greens MP who spoke on the condition of anonymity said it would be dangerous for the minor party to go to a double dissolution,as Labor would likely come out with an increased majority in the lower house.

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