Page 3349 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 19 October 2022
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Historically, the issue of investment in public and social housing has been an issue on which we have disagreed. In fact, it was in the lead-up to the 2020 election that the ACT Labor Party and the ACT Greens had differing position on social housing and how many new public housing properties we wanted to build over the course of the next term. Of course, both of those policies, while they were different in number, stood in stark contrast to the Canberra Liberals, who had no policy on an increased number of social and public housing in the ACT—not a one that I could find.
Mr Parton: No; that is not correct.
MR DAVIS: I am happy for you to correct me in the closing remarks, Mr Parton, because I could not find any. I noticed most of your election issues have already been taken down from the website; so the wholesale review starts in earnest!
But, of course, the ACT Labor Party had a commitment to a certain number of properties and the ACT Greens had a commitment to 400 properties. We worked really hard, and I am really proud that we secured that commitment to 400 new properties over the course of this term until 2025 as part of the agreement negotiated in the Parliamentary and Governing Agreement.
Of course, as we know it is not going to be enough. It is what we promised and it is what we are delivering, but we know it will not be enough. Those two things are not mutually exclusive. We have 3,060 people right now currently sitting on our public housing wait list, and, as economic pressures continue to affect Canberra families, with the rising cost of inflation and the even tighter job market, I suspect we will see that number rise in the future. I know that Minister Berry and Minister Vassarotti, in particular, know the pressures on that number, know those economic factors that are contributing to that number, and are working together collaboratively to address how the government is going to approach those things.
But, on the particular question of the public housing debt, it was my view, from where I sit all the way over here in the shadowy crossbenches, that we had not formed a unified position as a parliament, as an Assembly, all 25 members and all three parties, about where we stood on that. We heard some members talk about the advocacy that they had made with their colleagues. Of course, we never saw a letter tabled or phone records shared, but there was advocacy—“Just trust me; I had a chat with him at the pub and I told him that I thought this was a bit rotten and we should give it a go.”
Of course, the Chief Minister, as the leader of the government, has made efforts that he has assured the Assembly on—to the last government and to this government. But I thought it important, before the brand new Albanese Labor government prepared their budget, that this Assembly, all 25 of its members and all three of its parties, were on a clearly defined unity ticket on the question of this debt, because we had seen too much politics played with this debt over many, many years!
Of course, Senator Seselja was dealt with in a way that he deserved by the electorate, based on his representations of Canberrans—and the question of this public housing debt was certainly a contributing part of that. In his place, the Canberra electorate elected David Pocock. I welcome the election of Senator David Pocock and
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