Page 3007 - Week 10 - Friday, 8 October 2021
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family violence, and all households needing the support of public housing. (Time expired.)
DR PATERSON: Minister, what impact will this boost to growing, renewing and maintaining public housing have on tenants?
MS BERRY: Growing, renewing and maintaining public housing will improve the lives of existing Housing ACT tenants as well as making more homes available for families in need of housing in Canberra. Over the last few years I have met so many tenants who have moved into their new homes, and it has changed their lives in a most remarkable way.
Gloria and Daniel are two such wonderful tenants that I have met through the process of moving into their new home. Their new two-bedroom class C adaptable home in Kaleen is spacious, well located, and cheaper to heat and cool. Automatic doors through the complex mean that Daniel can get in and out of his home more easily. I was so grateful to hear Gloria and Daniel’s story. There are hundreds of tenants just like Gloria and Daniel who are moving into new homes designed and built to suit their needs. It will be a place that they can call home for years to come.
The $80 million investment in the maintenance of public housing will also significantly benefit existing tenants and prolong the life of public housing. The boost to maintenance funding will include upgrades to kitchens, bathrooms and laundries, modifications to support disability or ageing in place, security upgrades for tenants experiencing domestic and family violence, including security screens for doors and windows and lock changes, roof repairs and upgrades, replaced floor coverings, internal or external painting, as well as other general works and repairs. This work ensures that public housing tenants will continue to live in safe, well-maintained homes.
MR PARTON: Minister, can you now guarantee that all maintenance requests will be fulfilled within the regulatory time frames?
MS BERRY: If a public housing tenant contacts Programmed ACT to have maintenance conducted on their home, it will be triaged appropriately. If it is required and it is urgent then it will be assessed, and that maintenance will occur. If Programmed or Housing ACT are unaware of the maintenance, it makes it a little bit difficult to make that commitment. I encourage Mr Parton, if he has constituents contact his office regarding maintenance, to make sure that they have also contacted Programmed to ensure that they are aware—
Mr Parton: On a point of order, Madam Speaker, the question was not to detail the process around maintenance requests; it was very specific: can you guarantee that all maintenance requests will be fulfilled within the regulatory time frames? I would ask that the minister be relevant to the question.
MADAM SPEAKER: She is being relevant. There is no point of order. Minister, you have a minute left.
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