Page 1312 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 11 May 1993

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MINISTER FOR HOUSING AND COMMUNITY SERVICES

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY QUESTION

QUESTION NO 647

Housing Trust - Tenant Behaviour

MR CORNWELL: Asked the Minister for Housing and Community Services - In relation to the ACT Housing Trusts submission to the Industry Commission Inquiry into Public Housing and the statement (p19) that "The amount of land and number of adjoining blocks owned by the Trust in the inner areas provides opportunities for joint ventures with the private sector. This will achieve the goals of reducing the stigma of public housing..."

(1) What stigmatises public housing apart from behaviour of tenants and damage to the property.

(2) How will joint ventures with the private sector prevent such anti-social behaviour taking place and thus again stigmatising the property(s).

(3) If joint ventures will reduce the problem, why cannot the Trust do so now.

MR CONNOLLY: The answer to the Members question is as follows -

The housing policies of the ACT Labor Government aim to promote the principles of social justice and preserve opportunities for lower income households to live in areas close to community, and other support services.

I do not accept the criticism of public housing tenants which is implied in the question and believe that the vast majority of public housing tenants are valued and responsible members of the Canberra community. The integration of public housing with private sector development is an aim of the strategy pursued by the ACT Housing Trust. This strategy avoids the problem of large scale public housing estates evident in other states.

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