Page 1729 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 15 May 2019
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
government is taking to improve housing affordability for Canberrans on lower incomes. There are copies of the strategy available in my office and of course it is available online.
As outlined yesterday, $100 million has been allocated for public housing growth and renewal, building 1,200 new homes and providing an extra 200 homes for people on the housing register. Per capita, this is the highest investment in public housing in the country. If you add this to our current renewal program, over $1 billion will be invested in growing and renewing our public housing. One hundred and fifty-one dwellings will be managed by Community Housing to provide affordable and social rental housing. More details on these projects will be announced soon.
Fifteen per cent of the indicative land release program is being set aside for community and public and affordable housing, and land release overall is meeting or exceeding demand. There is no brake on when it comes to land supply, and there are blocks available over the counter right now for people to buy. Affordable housing set aside as part of the land release program forms part of a new affordable home purchase scheme allowing eligible Canberrans to purchase their home at affordable price points. Canberrans can go online right now and apply for the program and confirm their eligibility.
On homelessness support, the government is continuing with Common Ground at Dickson, an election commitment which will see up to 40 new homes available for social and affordable housing, with wraparound supports for people experiencing chronic homelessness. In addition, approximately $20 million is allocated each year for the homelessness services sector. This year’s budget allocated $6.5 million for homelessness programs for emerging cohorts, including women and migrant families, with no increase in funding from the federal government.
The ACT government, however, has continued to work on the issues of homelessness and to support people who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of experiencing homelessness to ensure that they are supported appropriately. And of course there is more support for OneLink and the Early Morning Centre, with longer operating hours so that people in need of accommodation can access that and support can be available for them over more hours.
On public housing, remember what happened the last time that the Canberra Liberals were in charge? They sold off around 1,000 homes. The government has been continuing to build more public housing and more culturally appropriate housing for older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, with $4.4 million set aside in this year’s budget. To reduce energy costs for vulnerable Canberrans, $5.7 million has been committed in the budget to improve the energy efficiency in 2,200 public housing dwellings. On public housing in the ACT, the ACT has reduced homelessness, compared to a national trend of a rise. We have reduced homelessness numbers here in the ACT against the national trend. Nobody ever wants to report on that because it is good news, but it means that we are heading in the right direction.
The affordable housing innovation fund is already starting to deliver outcomes, with $230,000 granted to HomeGround, which was launched last week by CHC, enabling
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video