Page 3798 - Week 11 - Thursday, 24 November 2022
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Housing ACT—maintenance
MR PARTON: My question is to the Minister for Housing and Suburban Development. Minister, table 22 in the CSD annual report, on page 107, shows the total number of complaints made in the last year and breaks it down by category, which is very helpful. Minister, why have the maintenance complaints not decreased, when you have previously stated that the increases in 2020-22 were due to fires and COVID?
MS BERRY: I always encourage public housing tenants, if they are experiencing difficulties in their homes with regard to maintenance issues, to contact Housing ACT or the maintenance provider to ensure that their homes are maintained to the level that is required by the ACT government. I am not concerned about the complaints. I do know that the $140 million made a significant difference in addressing the issues that had been raised by public housing tenants and in making sure that their homes were fit for purpose and that they could live in clean homes and live a good life.
MR PARTON: What are you doing to ensure that this figure does not keep increasing?
MS BERRY: We are continuing to manage it and we are ensuring that home maintenance is being provided in our public housing dwellings.
DR PATERSON: Minister, how does Housing ACT manage housing maintenance complaints?
Mr Parton: They come to me and then they go to her.
Opposition members interjecting—
MADAM SPEAKER: Members! It is question time, not comedy hour.
MS BERRY: I thank Dr Paterson for her question. Of course people are going to come to members of the Assembly with complaints or issues that they want to raise. I would expect nothing less in this place—that people would go to members of the opposition to raise issues around public housing or any other issues. That is the job of members of the Legislative Assembly: to listen to constituents and to address the issues that they might raise.
If it is a public housing tenant, we encourage them to get in touch with Housing ACT to address those maintenance concerns—or directly with my office. I am very happy to take complaints myself. I would encourage that as well. It would save time if they came directly to me, rather than to Mr Parton. Then he would not feel the need to raise in the paper or in the media urgent issues that need addressing straightaway. They could be addressed straightaway with me. Mr Parton does represent his constituency very well and does correspond with my office.
Opposition members interjecting—
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