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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 6 Hansard (3 September) . . Page.. 1959 ..

MR SMYTH (Minister for Urban Services) (7.22): Mr Speaker, I would like to make a short statement in relation to a matter raised by Mr Wood last evening concerning my office and Ms Helen Szuty. In June Ms Szuty sought a meeting with me as an advocate for an ACT Housing tenant who wanted to move from their home into another ACT Housing property. During that meeting, Ms Szuty, a real estate agent, handed me her business card and said that she had found a house for sale. She then asked if ACT Housing would buy the property for this tenant. Furthermore, Ms Szuty later showed the tenant through the property.

I did not consider that behaviour appropriate then, and nor do I now. It also falsely raised, I believe, the expectations of the tenant. I wrote to the Real Estate Institute, the appropriate body overseeing this industry, about my concerns. As far as I understand, the institute dealt with the matter as they saw fit. As far as I am concerned, the matter is now closed.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

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