Page 1494 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 17 April 1991
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Grassby might say about it being important for there to be a large public landowner in the Territory, everybody, I am convinced, ultimately would like to own their own home, and that is what this package allows them to do. It is, I think, anathema to lock people unnecessarily into public housing where they would like to leave it. I think this package provides the opportunity to put before people in that position the further option that they might eventually own their own homes.
Mrs Grassby also curiously stated that there was a problem if non-subsidised tenants buy out, or, in other words, leave the public housing stock by buying their own homes - that is, their own previously publicly owned homes - and thereby leave a higher proportion of subsidised tenants of the Housing Trust. Obviously there is a problem of mix there and having the trust deal with a range of people within the terms of its charter. But she also said, quite clearly, as I recall - she might correct me on this - that there would be a problem with cost blow-out if public housing tenants were to be constituted primarily or wholly of subsidised tenants. I am at a loss as to how that could occur. Perhaps Mrs Grassby at some stage could explain how it could occur.
Presumably, if people who are non-subsidised leave the housing market and take their houses with them when they go, there can be no additional cost flowing on to the Housing Trust at all. In fact, if public housing is provided at some cost to the Territory, whether it is subsidised or not, presumably any tenant that leaves it provides some windfall to the Territory. So I am quite at a loss to understand what Mrs Grassby meant by that and I would be very anxious to hear her explain what that means.
I welcome this initiative. It is a very valuable and very well received initiative on the part of the Government. I know that those opposite resent anything that we do that has the potential to win votes, and I am completely convinced that this package has just that potential.
Mrs Nolan: There have already been 53 applications since 2 April.
MR HUMPHRIES: I am told by my colleague Mrs Nolan that, in fact, there have already been 53 applications in the last few weeks under this scheme, and that indicates to me very clearly that people will vote with their feet for the proposals outlined in this package.
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