Page 1398 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 6 May 2015
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shopping centres that they want to go to, public transport might not be of particular concern to that person. Those are the sorts of conversations that we are having with people who live along Northbourne Avenue and in the Bega flats and the BAC flats in the city. So it is not necessarily just about whether there are public transport routes in place; it is about whether the housing suits the needs of that tenant.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Ms Lawder.
MS LAWDER: Minister, how will relocating public housing tenants away from Northbourne Avenue to suburbs where it is difficult to provide public transport within a reasonable walking distance of households make it easier for those people to access employment opportunities—or are you suggesting that they do not need employment, education or training opportunities?
MS BERRY: As I said in my answer earlier regarding the specific needs of tenants who live along Northbourne Avenue, whether the issue is to provide employment opportunities for them or to provide housing that better meets their needs if they are a person with a disability, we will be talking to those residents to find out where in Canberra best suits their needs. If they choose to live in Belconnen, Gungahlin, Tuggeranong, Woden or Chisholm, that will be the choice that we will try to ensure that those people have.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mr Coe.
MR COE: Minister, how will relocating public housing tenants away from Northbourne Avenue to suburbs where it is difficult to provide public transport or accessible community services within a reasonable walking distance of households make it easier for those people to access the services they need?
MS BERRY: In fact, in conversations that I have had with some of the residents in Owen flats in particular, along Northbourne, their preference has been to live in Belconnen so that they can be closer to family, closer to their own social networks and closer to schools where some of their grandchildren or children or friends attend.
Northside Community Service has been having conversations with residents in Owen flats—as well as me—and I know Ms Lawder has as well. We are taking into account what people’s specific needs are, and we are trying to meet them as much as we can during the housing relocation process. If a person wants to live in Gungahlin, which has been another popular option, then we will try and meet those needs as much as possible. I am sure that the residents of Gungahlin will embrace new members entering their community through the public housing relocation program that we are embarking on.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mr Coe.
MR COE: Minister, can you guarantee that no resident will forcibly be relocated to the Chisholm or Nicholls development?
MS BERRY: The conversations are still being had with those tenants, and those developments are still in the development application stage. We will be continuing to
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