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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 10 Hansard (5 September) . . Page.. 3154 ..

MR STEFANIAK: ACT Housing does follow up any complaints made in relation to various matters. Indeed, as Minister, I frequently get concerns expressed by people when they think their complaints have not been taken up quickly enough or seriously enough. That is something that ACT Housing does try to address as best it can. We are constantly, Ms Reilly, as you would know if you listened to the various reports in the media, trying to improve our services.

Last year, I announced a pilot program in Belconnen in terms of speeding up the service for the people who came into the office about all manner of problems, including maintenance problems. The new service we are trialling in Belconnen, where there will be a manager responsible for about 320 houses or properties, who will go around, get to know the tenants, get to know the problems and be able to look after maintenance concerns, will also, I think, be very effective in terms of speeding up any problems people do have with maintenance; or, indeed, maintenance where perhaps the people who were meant to fix the item that was damaged did not do a good enough job or did not do something to the standard which perhaps the tenant actually required.

We are constantly trying to improve our system. I think those two systems I mentioned - the improvements made generally to the Belconnen office, which has now been expanded throughout the regions in Canberra, and the current three-month trial in relation to property managers being responsible for a number of properties and getting to know those properties, the tenants and the maintenance needs - will further improve the system, Mr Speaker.

MR KAINE: Mr Speaker, through you, I have a question to the Minister responsible for ACTION, Mr Tony De Domenico. Minister, I have some concerns about an article which appears in this week's Canberra Chronicle reporting delays in the extension of route 511 to Harcourt Hill. A Mr Whitecross is quoted extensively throughout the article as blaming both you and ACTION - - -

Mr Humphries: Surely not.

MR KAINE: Yes. This is the imperceptible Mr Whitecross, I think. He is quoted as blaming both you and ACTION management for continuing to delay the provision of this service. Has the imperceptible Mr Whitecross got it wrong yet again?

MR DE DOMENICO: I thank Mr Kaine for his question. The short answer to Mr Kaine is of course; of course he has it wrong. This is nothing new, mind you. Members may be aware of the plan to extend ACTION bus route 511 to include the suburbs of Harcourt Hill and Nicholls, too, Mr Kaine.

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