Page 305 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 31 May 1989
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
MR KAINE: I ask a supplementary question: Is the answer yes or no?
MR SPEAKER: I think the question has been answered.
GOVERNMENT HOUSING
MRS GRASSBY: Yesterday Mr Collaery asked me the following question:
In view of the ACT election commitment to ensuring that public housing is directed towards the most needy, could the Minister please inform the Assembly how often government tenants are means tested?
The answer is that, as to public housing tenants eligible for rent rebate, currently 65 per cent of all tenants are means tested and reviews occur every six months, or 12 months in the case of age pensioners. Other tenants who pay normal rent are means tested when they apply for assistance and prior to allocation of dwellings. Our current strategy is to move progressively towards market rents so that those not eligible for rental rebate will pay full rent.
This strategy is generally in line with the practice within the States, and it is preferable to continue means testing for the tenants not on rental rebate. To force tenants no longer meeting the initial eligible criteria out of public housing is against Commonwealth-State Housing Agreement principles and would have the following negative outcome: tenants would have no incentive to improve themselves; public housing would develop a stigma due to poor social mix; the Housing Trust's ability to help the needy would decrease as revenue from rents declined; and extensive additional staff resources would be required to carry out the means testing.
COACH TRANSPORT
MRS GRASSBY: A question asked by Mrs Nolan yesterday related to the operation of New South Wales based charter tours in the ACT while ACT operators are unable to operate in the State in a similar way.
The Government has been made aware of this problem. There have been a number of recent developments which may assist ACT coach operators to compete more equally in New South Wales. These include the gradual deregulation of coach services by the New South Wales Government and the effect of the ACT (Self-Government) Act, giving the ACT State-type rights to freedom of interstate trade.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .