Page 1901 - Week 07 - Thursday, 20 August 1992
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house, one would sometimes wonder. The fact of the matter is that the majority do have rights. They should be listened to, whether you agree with them or not. As Mr Humphries said, it may sometimes be necessary to convince them, and perhaps some good will come out of this.
It is not true to say that there was sufficient consultation in relation to the Fraser - - -
Mr Connolly: The Ombudsman said that.
MR CORNWELL: I will come to the Ombudsman in a moment. The fact remains that the place was purchased in December 1991. In May 1992 representations were made to me that included the statement that in May 1992, that is, six months after the purchase of the place, neighbours had still not been told who was going to move in there or to what organisation the property had been allocated. This is hardly consultation, I suggest to you; yet Mr Connolly in his speech talks about the need to be integrated into the community. Obviously, these SAAP accommodations cannot be integrated into the community if the community are not told or not allowed to have them integrated. Secrecy is not going to help.
Mr Berry, of course, quoted the Ombudsman's report. The report stated that they had spoken to the Housing Trust, and the Housing Trust had said that all procedures had been followed. Mr Berry did not comment on whether they had spoken to the neighbours. I do not know. Is that so, Mr Berry? Did the Ombudsman speak to the neighbours?
Mr Berry: Your face is red. You are embarrassed.
MR CORNWELL: Come on, answer the question. Did they speak to the neighbours or only the Housing Trust? There is no answer from Mr Berry.
Mr Berry: The Ombudsman found that what was done was quite appropriate in the circumstances. If you want to challenge the Ombudsman, deal with that.
MR CORNWELL: That is not an answer. My question was whether they had spoken to the neighbours. The purpose of this disallowance motion is to highlight this problem. I believe that we have succeeded in doing that. I hope that the Housing Trust and Mr Connolly will give serious consideration to what we have been saying about the need to consult. There is a need for much greater liaison between local residents and government departments in relation to the allocation of this SAAP accommodation.
Mr Moore: No.
MR CORNWELL: You may scoff, Mr Moore, but the fact is that there is a greater opportunity to integrate this accommodation into the neighbourhood if the residents are on side. A proposal has been put forward, and when I introduced this disallowance motion a copy of the proposed social contract was tabled. I hope that Mr Connolly will examine that with his departmental officers. I believe that it should be explored, along with other ways of improving relations between new neighbours and the older neighbours that live there. I think a more open approach is necessary and I believe, certainly, that the current secrecy does not encourage friendly relations.
Mr Moore: All it is designed for is safety.
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