Page 964 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 21 April 2021
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businesses is that they can help to reduce their costs by encouraging consumers to not use single-use products, whether they be made out of plastic or any other material in the first place. If you are at work, you can bring your takeaway food back and use a metal fork or spoon and then wash it and use it again. We want that sort of behaviour to be taking place.
It will be different for each different product. Of course, we want to make sure that we are moving to alternatives that can be recycled. That was part of the discussion that environment ministers had when we met last week. We all committed to transition away from a minimum of eight different products, with the commonwealth government also taking a role in phasing out the EPS products that are associated with consumer goods packaging and making sure that there is appropriate labelling so that they can be recycled.
Housing ACT—maintenance
MR CAIN: My question is to the Minister for Homelessness and Housing Services: as you would be aware, I recently wrote to you about an ACT Housing property that is infested with rats. ACT Housing attempted to deal with the issue by removing some rubbish from the property. However, this did not improve the situation. How has this issue been allowed to continue after you have been informed about it?
MS VASSAROTTI: Thank you to the member for the question. As people would be aware, we would not be able to speak about an individual circumstance due to privacy issues. But I can certainly talk to some of the key approaches that are taken by Housing ACT to make sure that people are meeting their obligations under the Residential Tenancies Act.
Housing staff work very closely with tenants in terms of particular issues and provide practical supports where they can in relation to the provision of things such as skips and pest control if required. Some of the issues that come through are those struggles tenants face particularly with hoarding and squalor. Particular strategies are put in place by Housing ACT to support people that are working through some really complex mental health issues.
MR CAIN: Minister, how many other properties in the ACT Housing portfolio are infested with rats?
MS VASSAROTTI: Thank you to the member for the supplementary question. We do not provide commentary around individual properties. This is not information that we would be able to provide in this forum.
MR PARTON: Minister, how can you ensure that tenants are looking after their properties in a way that means they do not impact heavily on those people around them?
MS VASSAROTTI: There is a really strong engagement process with individual residents that happens through the housing managers. We also have put in place some specialist workers, such as housing practitioners, that aim to work specifically with
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