Page 2514 - Week 08 - Thursday, 30 August 2007
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I would like to see us take a tougher stance. My views about people on substantial incomes living in public housing are well known. I have raised it before. I think it is a shameful situation when people who are on substantial incomes are paying so-called market rental which, frankly, I do not think is true market rental. I do not believe that the assets of the territory should be tied up so that genuinely disadvantaged people cannot get into these places.
MRS BURKE (Molonglo) (9.37): I thank the shadow Treasurer for outlining the macro overview of public housing, a portfolio which, as we have heard, amounts to some $3.5 billion, with housing stock still valued at $2.9 billion at this stage, I think. The shadow Treasurer raised many issues which I totally concur with. I would like to draw attention to some of the more detailed micro issues.
Given last year’s drastic cuts to the supported accommodation assistance program, this budget fails to provide any significant new money in the area of homelessness services and crisis accommodation. That is supported by ACTCOSS and it has a knock-on effect.
Mr Hargreaves: It’s not supposed to.
MRS BURKE: The minister is saying that it is not supposed to, but I am saying that it is relative: it is having a knock-on effect right through the sector now. We have made changes to the eligibility criteria for public housing; we swiped a whole lot of people off the waiting list in so doing. As the minister will know, that has had the impact of people having to find somewhere else to try and live. With high rentals and so forth, it is extremely difficult for them to find a roof over their head.
Let me go to budget paper 1, page 21, the Chief Minister’s speech. He says:
… a roof over one’s head is a basic need for each of us, whatever our age, whatever our family size or our financial circumstances. That doesn’t mean we should all aspire to an identical, detached house and garden in the suburbs. What we need is choice. What we need are stepping stones. What we need are options. That’s what Labor is determined to create, and today’s Budget will help us do it.
It was really pleasing for me to see those words in here. I have been talking about this for years now—about the mixed housing options that we need, about choice being the real thing that we need. As I said previously, many people now do not have a choice. We have a system that has been poorly managed for five or six years. We have had a couple of housing ministers, and lots of talk and lots of forums and meetings. People have put time and effort into this, but we are not seeing the outworking—until recently: there has been a little flurry of activity, which is welcome of course.
The ACT Treasurer, Mr Jon Stanhope, has called for submissions to the ACT budget for 2008-09 by Friday, 28 September. This is much earlier than the usual November deadline. I am drawing that to the attention of people because we have got a critical problem with the housing situation and the SAAP sector that could and will impact upon public, community and social housing as a whole. They are going to have a doozy of a time trying to put a good case together.
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