Page 1268 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 29 March 2017
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start the consultation process somewhere. Renewal of public housing in the ACT, including these proposed developments, is based on some key principles.
The approach the ACT government is undertaking in renewing public housing is outlined clearly in Minister Berry’s amendment. The linking into new communities task force works closely with and provides support to tenants to maintain their links with community before, during and after their move to their new home. Where a tenant moves to is determined on a case-by-case basis in consultation with each household. The aim is to have each household move to another public housing property in a single relocation. Housing ACT and its community partners are keeping tenants informed about what is happening. The provision of timely and useful information is guided by a comprehensive tenant relocation strategy that incorporates targeted consultation activities.
As noted, my colleague Minister Berry is leading this work. Housing and community services, as the responsible division in CSD, continues to work in partnership with the community sector to support tenants to find accommodation in advance of the planned redevelopment. Fundamentally, this is about choice. It is about offering and allowing Canberrans—often, as Mrs Jones pointed out, some of our most vulnerable Canberrans—a real choice about where they want to live. The approach we are implementing is working.
I would note that some tenants have chosen to stay in their current community, and the fact that we have more than 170 replacement dwellings located in the inner north supports this choice. Some tenants who were previously living in the inner north have moved out, and we are also supporting them to do that.
As a member for Kurrajong, in February this year I was lucky enough to attend with Minister Berry a public housing handover of 14 new apartments in Lyneham which were transferred to Housing ACT. At the handover of the units I had the opportunity to meet and talk with members of the TAMS consultative group, and I heard very clearly from them about how our approach to public housing renewal is changing lives. The ACT government has a focus on revitalising part of Canberra through the transformation of public housing.
There have been a number of media reports about how our public housing program is working for Canberrans. In December 2016 the Canberra Times reported on the experience of seven-year-old Diamond Sanuoubane and his mother, Sonrudee Phonkett, who moved out of public housing in Red Hill into a new public housing development at Coombs. Ms Phonkett was very pleased with the landscaping and modern features and the convenience offered by the nearby suburban centre, primary schools and bus routes.
The ABC reported on 13 March on those tenants in the public housing complex on Northbourne Avenue who had relocated. Of the approximately 400 households on Northbourne Avenue, 70 have moved, with the rest to be relocated by mid-2019. It was great to hear about Peter’s move to Braddon, Laurel’s move to Ainslie and Nick’s move to a quiet street in O’Connor. As I said, I welcome the relocation of these public housing tenants in my electorate and I hope they will continue to enjoy living in the
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