THE Greens' Cathy Oke has called for a $1 bet-per-spin limit on Victorian poker machines, saying the limit would slow the speed at which gambling addicts lose money.

Ms Oke, the Greens' candidate in the Melbourne byelection, said the state government had the power to make the changes. All that was needed was the political will.

She said that under gaming machine rules, $1200 could be lost in just an hour on the pokies and a $1 limit was something that could be quickly set to reduce the rate of loss.

"People are losing their life savings before they even realise they have a problem," she said.

Ms Oke said the Greens wanted the $1 limit on all new machines, with the machines to be converted by 2017.

Independent candidate Stephen Mayne said he totally supported the Greens' position on the $1 limit - a position, he said, that was shared by Senator Nick Xenophon and independent MP Andrew Wilkie.

"It's one of the original recommendations made by the Productivity Commission that Julia Gillard has rejected," Mr Mayne said.

"It was always the best solution. It means the machines are far less dangerous; it works to stop the runaway binges, where gamblers are getting in the zone.

Limits on public housing rent

Public housing tenants should not pay more than a quarter of their income in rent, Labor's Jennifer Kanis has said.

Ms Kanis, the Labor candidate in the byelection, met public housing tenants from Carlton and North Melbourne last week to talk about a public housing discussion paper released by the state government.

She said three issues were raised in the discussion paper, including the removal of a cap on rents set at 25 per cent of a tenant's earnings.

"When you are on such limited income, any increase is a big deal," Ms Kanis said.

She said public housing should not be sold to the public sector.

"There is a role for government in public housing ... it is an important role that should not be handed over."

Ms Kanis also spoke out against limited tenure in public housing.

"As long as tenants meet the criteria for public housing, there is no reason for them to be moved on," she said.