Page 1571 - Week 06 - Thursday, 3 May 1990
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of Melba Flats which the Government announced in July 1989. I know that recently Mr Collaery has tried to take the credit for this project as well. I can assure him that the residents of Melba Flats are well acquainted with the fact that it was the Follett Labor Government that made this very important decision.
Mr Speaker, the list of our achievements goes on. For example, we commenced a major project to replace the heating and hot-water supply to Currong Flats. We announced a commitment to increase the housing stock by 280 dwellings each year for the next four years to ensure that there was no significant increase in waiting times for public housing. This was in addition to the extra housing we provided for the relocation of the residents of Melba Flats.
We agreed to funding for an Ainslie Village redevelopment worker and a review of redevelopment of Ainslie Village. We agreed to increase the funds available for housing loans in order to maintain the number of households given assistance. And so the list goes on. We also took into account the number of homeless young people in Canberra and set up two houses with the help of the Belconnen Rotary Club and the Anglican Church, which was a new initiative for this type of thing in Canberra.
Mr Speaker, let me summarise what this legislation will mean to the ACT. It will mean a guaranteed level of funding by the Commonwealth of $17m a year until 1992-93. I am glad to see the Government has put our commitment into place. Let me say that, to us, housing is a right for every citizen of the ACT. It is not a social issue nor should it be put in with it. Housing should have been kept with urban services as it is the right of every single citizen in the ACT to have housing, whether it be Housing Trust or private housing. We, as a government, were looking at ways of helping people even on very low incomes to achieve their own house, or a share of it. I would like to see a little bit more of this Government bringing something like that in, but otherwise we support the Bill.
MR DUBY (Minister for Finance and Urban Services) (10.59): Mr Speaker, it is pleasing to see the members on that side of the house supporting this Bill as it is a very important Bill. Before I comment on the provisions of this Bill I think that some of the comments made by Mrs Grassby deserve answering.
The fact is that Mrs Grassby is not alone in the pious feeling that housing is a right. It is the right of all citizens in this Territory to have proper, appropriate and affordable housing for them and their families, and this Government supports that concept absolutely. Never, I think, has it been denied by anyone here. It is typical of the statements made by those on that side of the house. They think that, if you say something often enough and long enough, people will eventually start to believe it. Frankly, I resent those sorts of comments.
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