Page 406 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 22 March 2022
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highlighted a Housing ACT unit of concern in the suburb of Wright that had been trashed by the previous tenant and subject to squatters in recent months. As a part of the program, a Housing ACT spokesperson confirmed that the property has now been secured, cleaned and repaired, and is expected to be reallocated to a new tenant in the coming weeks. I alerted your office to this issue months and months ago, back in January, and tenants had for months prior to that been alerting Housing ACT and Programmed. Given that this has been an issue since late 2021, why has it taken so much time for the unit to be secured, cleaned and repaired?
MS BERRY: I thank Mr Parton for the question. I note Mr Parton’s correspondence to my office around this particular issue, and the issues raised by tenants who were living in that complex as well. I think there were a number of reasons for that. Some of it cannot be disclosed, because it is of a personal nature concerning the previous tenant. However, I think I have responded to the correspondence that Mr Parton wrote to me, and he should receive that soon.
Mr Parton: I don’t believe so.
MS BERRY: I think I signed it today. We have had a bit of a backlog in correspondence across a number of areas in the government, so I apologise for the delay, but you should receive a response to that letter.
MR PARTON: Minister, why did it take a national news program to finally push your government to deal fully with this issue?
MS BERRY: No, that was not the case at all.
MR HANSON: Minister, what are the repercussions for any tenants who destroy land and property in the ACT?
MS BERRY: They have a requirement under the tenancies act to be good tenants and to not destroy their properties. When that occurs, on some occasions they may be required to give up their tenancy.
Lakes and waterways—pollution
MS LAWDER: Madam Speaker, my question is to Minister for City Services. Minster, I have asked previously about mowing grass near our lakes and waterways, but why are you allowing grass cuttings from public land mowing to enter our lakes and waterways and consequentially pollute these natural water assets?
MR STEEL: Well I thank the member for her question, I am happy to follow up in relation to a specific location that she might be referring to. The practice is generally often not to mow the direct edge of a waterway, whether it be a lake, pond, river or stream, so that the nutrients from mowing do not then flow into the waterway, or move into the waterway.
But if there is a particular location where that has occurred, happy to bring that to the attention of TCCS to make sure that it does not happen in the future.
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