Page 1316 - Week 04 - Thursday, 8 May 2014

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you. You are also taller than most and the microphone does not pick you up as well. I just have to listen harder.

MS BERRY: Thank you, Madam Speaker. Minister, you recently announced changes to an ACT government housing program called the affordable housing scheme. Could you please provide the Assembly with an overview of this program?

Opposition members interjecting—

MADAM SPEAKER: Order! Mr Hanson and Mr Coe.

Mr Hanson interjecting—

MADAM SPEAKER: Mr Rattenbury has the floor, Mr Hanson.

MR RATTENBURY: The ACT government is committed to providing a range of innovative affordable housing options for older people as part of the affordable housing action plan. This program of Housing ACT is a response to that commitment. Specifically, the affordable rental scheme which was launched in 2011 is for people aged 65 or over who already rent a property but are having difficulty sustaining their tenancies. Applicants must meet certain pension and assets eligibility tests but, essentially, the program is designed to provide safe and affordable rental options to older Canberrans over the age of 65 who may not be eligible for normal public housing assistance but who would really struggle in the private market.

As minister for both housing and ageing, I hear of these issues quite a bit. Seniors whose incomes are declining as they come to the end of their working life but also people who would perhaps not have a strong asset base—

Opposition members interjecting—

MADAM SPEAKER: Order, members! It really is disruptive. I can hardly hear Mr Rattenbury and I do not think Mr Rattenbury can hear himself think over the conversations across the chamber.

Mr Coe interjecting—

MADAM SPEAKER: Mr Coe! I have called you to order.

MR RATTENBURY: It is a shame that the Liberal Party are so busy snickering away over there that they are not even interested in what is quite a valuable scheme for older Canberrans who, at the end of their lives, find themselves perhaps on a fixed income and struggling to make it in the private rental market. The government has sought to provide an innovative product that helps tackle that. It is particularly an issue for many older women who, for a range of reasons—

Mr Hanson interjecting—

MADAM SPEAKER: Mr Hanson! I warn you, Mr Hanson.


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