Page 3341 - Week 08 - Thursday, 23 August 2012
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been a constant presence and a valuable contributor over the past four years. I also thank four members—Ms Joy Burch, Ms Mary Porter, Dr Chris Bourke and Mr John Hargreaves—who were committee members for various periods over the past four years.
On behalf of the committee, I would especially like to thank and recognise the valuable contributions of members of the secretariat—Ms Grace Concannon, who was the initial secretary when the committee was established and served until 6 January 2012 through various reports; we sincerely thank Ms Concannon for her contribution over that period—and Mr Trevor Rowe, who filled in between February and April 2012. A very special thanks to Ms Kate Harkins, who was secretary between May until the present time, of course, for stepping in at very short notice and catching up on all of the work that she had to do to assist us in the completion of this report. So our sincere thanks to all of them, and also to Ms Lydia Chung, the administrative assistant, who was of such valuable help to all of the various secretaries in the course of the committee membership.
I am pleased to present this report, titled The provision of social housing in the ACT, to the Assembly. The health, community and social services committee chose to examine the provision of social housing in the ACT following the ACT Ombudsman’s investigation of social housing last year. While the Ombudsman primarily examined the administrative processes surrounding the review and appeal rights of applicants and tenants, this inquiry examined the wider operation of Housing ACT, including its range of available stock, asset management systems and communication practices.
The community received 16 submissions and four supplementary submissions with the majority from housing advocacy organisations. The committee held two public hearings on 14 and 21 September and heard from 18 witnesses. The committee is grateful to all the participants who appeared before us and provided written submissions.
This inquiry highlights the constant struggle for balance that the ACT faces when it comes to ensuring that the most vulnerable within our community have access to safe, secure and affordable housing. This report suggests that, with improved stock management practices and a long-term asset management strategy, the ACT government can aim to expand the lifecycle of existing stock.
The committee also makes a number of recommendations regarding the processes associated with the applicants and tenants of social housing. A large number of the recommendations do not require systematic change but a re-examination of the current system to identify areas for improvement. The committee strongly encourages Housing ACT and the Community Services Directorate to maintain their focus on becoming a human services provider, as all submissions to the inquiry highlighted that communication methods need urgent attention and change. I commend the report to the Assembly.
MS BRESNAN (Brindabella) (10.37): I will just speak very briefly. I would like to thank Mr Doszpot for chairing this committee and always being collaborative with
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