Page 1351 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 6 May 2015
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Bedsits and single-bedroom apartments may have worked well as temporary accommodation for freshly arrived public servants, but that was 50 years ago. That accommodation simply does not work for people with a disability, for ageing tenants or for anyone with a child. Renewing our portfolio means we will be better able to meet the needs of some of the most vulnerable people in our community, break down aggregations of disadvantage and better integrate public housing and our public housing tenants into our community.
So the time to renew Canberra’s public housing has come. I am very proud to be part of a government that is taking the lead when it comes to public housing renewal, proud to be part of a government that recognises the importance of providing good-quality housing to those who need it most, that approaches this significant task with a very clear head, and recognises that it is in the interests of our community, and in particular public housing tenants, that we better meet their needs. And the ministerial team is committed to working with tenants to deliver this result.
In fact, this will be the largest renewal of public housing in the history of self-government, replacing stock which has reached the end of its useful life with modern homes far more suited to the needs of our tenants. This five-year plan will drive urban renewal across our city and improve the range of housing choices available to ACT residents. It will also allow us to move away from multi-unit complexes of public housing, which can concentrate disadvantage, and develop homes that are more affordable and better meet the needs of our tenants. Public housing is located throughout Canberra, in most suburbs, and will be further incorporated in our newer suburbs.
Public housing is an important strategy to alleviate poverty and social disadvantage in our community. And as a community we have made a deliberate decision to make sure we do not have big concentrations of disadvantage. We know that outcomes for public housing tenants are best when we integrate public housing into our community. It means better outcomes for our community as a whole and certainly better outcomes for our public housing tenants. Everyone can make a positive contribution to our community if we help provide the personal circumstances and living arrangements to allow that to happen.
Our public housing renewal program will deliver housing that suits the needs of our tenants. It will support our ageing tenants, our tenants with disabilities and our tenants with children. We value the benefits of having mixed communities, people living side by side, educated in the same schools and mixing together, modelling behaviour that prioritises community, work and family.
“Salt and peppering”, as it is known, is part of the public housing asset management strategy. This is not a formula; it is an intention to provide public housing in as many parts of the community as possible. Salt and peppering of social housing is important to achieve fairness in our community. It is about providing people with equal opportunities, whether they be renters or property owners. And it means public housing in Canberra is becoming indistinguishable from other forms of housing. It avoids the negative elements of concentrations of disadvantage and social stigmatisation that obviously disadvantaged areas can have.
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