Page 547 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 17 February 2016
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
2016 to address Canberra’s affordable housing crisis and increase the supply of affordable housing in the ACT and to provide detailed information of what they are actually doing—putting something into action, not just talking about it, addressing the public housing waiting list, the transfer list, providing exits from the homelessness services and how they are going to provide housing for refugees moving to Canberra. And I have asked them to report back to the Assembly in March 2016 on their progress.
The time for talk, we have had that for many, many years from this government. What we need to see is movement, reduction in those numbers of people on the waiting list, improvement in affordable housing in the ACT. I hope that members here will support my motion today.
MS BERRY (Ginninderra—Minister for Housing, Community Services and Social Inclusion, Minister for Multicultural and Youth Affairs, Minister for Sport and Recreation and Minister for Women) (5.11): I thank Ms Lawder for bringing this motion to the Assembly. I move the amendment circulated in my name:
Omit all words after paragraph (1)(g), substitute:
“(h) the ACT has the highest proportion of social housing in Australia with approximately 30 dwellings per 1000 people compared to a national average of 17 dwellings per 1000 people;
(i) the 2016 Report on Government Services shows that the ACT public housing waiting list, as a proportion of public housing stock, is the lowest in Australia at 21%;
(j) the Report on Government Services shows that the ACT has the most highly targeted social housing system in Australia, with 96.7% of public housing allocations and 97.9% of community housing allocations made to households in greatest need;
(k) the 2016 Report on Government Services shows that, of homelessness service clients requiring employment and/or training support, 23.7% were employed after support, which was the highest in Australia;
(l) some homelessness service providers in the ACT report that between 20% and 30% of their clients have come from interstate;
(m) the ACT has the lowest rate of people who are rough sleeping in Australia, with 0.8 per 10 000 compared to a national average of 3.8 per 10 000;
(n) the ACT Government is replacing 1288 public housing dwellings under the Public Housing Renewal Program with modern, efficient homes which better meet the needs of public housing tenants;
(o) the ACT is leading efforts among jurisdictions for greater certainty around future Commonwealth funding for homelessness services under the National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness;
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video