Page 1770 - Week 05 - Thursday, 2 April 2009
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involve community housing in delivering this historic increase in social housing. I will be bringing together key stakeholders, including members of the opposition and the crossbench, to discuss the ongoing role of community and not-for-profit housing with respect to the rollout of the stimulus package. The details of this forum are being worked out by my department and I hope to be able to brief my Assembly colleagues soon.
This funding by the Australian government will be used to deliver much improved housing services for people as they exit homelessness, in addition to specialist and intensive support services for people in crisis. Together, these agreements form a package of service responses and capital expenditure which aim to halve the rate of homelessness by 2020. Working with our partners is vital if these programs are to have a chance of working. We do not have all the resources in house.
The time frames set by the commonwealth to deliver outcomes for the stimulus package are tight. We cannot wait; we cannot dither. We have been given a strict set of guidelines, timetables and deliverables by the commonwealth from which we cannot digress. The stakes are too high. We cannot risk any more jobs, any more uncertainty and any more people being affected by the global financial crisis. We must not lose sight of this.
While the nation building and jobs plan will supply wonderful new opportunities to move forward in the area of social housing, its primary purpose is exactly what the prime minister has called it—a stimulus package. Let us be clear about this: the global financial crisis has hammered our economy, hammered job security and hammered global confidence. The stimulus package will go a long way to rectifying this at the ACT level and nothing must stand in our way or delay us. This was covered in my discussions with Ms Bresnan and Mr Coe last week, and both of them acknowledged the fact that we cannot delay in the implementation of the housing component of the stimulus package. The risk is far too great.
In discussion with Ms Bresnan’s office yesterday, I was somewhat perplexed, though, that the Greens said they will move amendments to my motion regarding the use of the word “support” in paragraph (5) of this motion. I can wear this amendment, but why is there reluctance? The Greens say they “recognise” the issue in paragraph (5) but cannot “support” the paragraph. I remind the Assembly that the federal Greens leader said:
… this package is important to the nation at a time of global financial stricture. We see the potential for increased unemployment and hardship in the country and recognise that a stimulus to the economy is required.
The ACT is well placed to meet the time frames and we must have total multipartisan support, not recognition, of the issues at stake here. Housing ACT already has a number of projects being prepared which will meet the very tight time frames set by the commonwealth. These include projects that have development applications approved and land purchases for which development can be expedited.
The ACT fully supports the stimulus package proposed by the commonwealth. The significant benefits that will flow will allow the ACT to continue to focus on meeting
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