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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 7 Hansard (18 June) . . Page.. 1792 ..

MS REILLY (continuing):

We have had the principles that are set out in that housing agreement that we have been working on since self-government in 1989, so to start in 1996 with some changes is quite a landmark event. Obviously, it is not one that the Minister seemed to feel a need to discuss with a wide range of people; he did not see the need to discuss the Bill with the community. We should remember that housing is a vital and essential issue. It is one of the most important needs for all people. Having access to affordable housing is a very important part of this community, and it is an issue that we should keep in the forefront of our minds.

If you look at the way that we have managed housing in Australia, there is a very interesting history of public provision, particularly since World War II with the introduction of the Commonwealth-State housing agreements. They provided a number of different supports for people through rental assistance and to assist in purchasing. Home ownership has been one of the key indicators of Australian prosperity. Since the end of the Second World War we have gone from about 50 per cent of home ownership to 70 per cent, which makes us one of the highest home ownership countries in the world. This is something that we are justly proud of; but, if we do not keep an eye on it and ensure that people have access to housing, this will not continue. In fact, the figures are already showing that younger people are not coming into the home ownership market, because housing affordability is no longer so available to all. I think this is something that we need to keep in mind, and it is something that has not been mentioned to any great degree in these amendments.

The ACT also has an interesting history in relation to the provision of housing. Without a doubt, if you look at the way Canberra developed, it is a company town. The first provision was all public housing, obviously at different levels, depending on which part of the public service one worked in. The provision of housing acted as a way of attracting people to Canberra. Obviously, the Government built much of the older part of Canberra. Obviously, the direct provision has changed over the years, but the government still is an important part of housing provision in the ACT. We have about 12,500 units of housing here and we are the biggest landlord in the ACT. Ten per cent of the housing in the ACT is public housing, and I think this is a record that we can be justly proud of, and one that we need to maintain.

One of my concerns about this Bill and the amendments that are being proposed is that we are not spelling out some of our commitment to this housing. In fact, you could look at the amendments and the parts that they are removing from the Act, such as the Schedule, and suggest that we will have a mere skeleton of a Housing Assistance Act for the future. Housing is also an important part of our industry and an employment growth area in the ACT, and we will need to maintain it as well, for the same reasons. The Minister was very modest in his introduction of the Bill. There was no fanfare and there was no community consultation. Looking at some of the provisions of this Bill, one of the first things mentioned is that we no longer attach the housing agreement to the Act. The reason given in the explanatory memorandum is that it is no longer necessary, but I would suggest that it is. It forms an important part of what we are going to do in housing. The thing that it does do is spell out in more detail some of the provisions of the new housing agreement, some that have not been mentioned in the amendments that have been put up at this time.

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