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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 10 Hansard (3 September) . . Page.. 2983 ..

Debate resumed.

MR STEFANIAK: One measure of the need is the number of people on ACT Housing's waiting list. It currently stands at approximately 4,400, with a further 1,140 who are current tenants seeking transfers within the system. That, incidentally, Madam Deputy Speaker, is considerably better than some two years ago, when the figure on the waiting list was 7,072. I might say that it had come down from 8,885 in 1993. We have made considerable improvements there.

About one-third of applicants on the waiting list for public housing are young singles between the ages of 16 and 24 years. Using the 1991 census data, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare estimated that there were 9,800 renting households in the ACT who needed assistance in order to be able to afford appropriate housing. The Commonwealth Government has estimated that around 14,300 renting households in the ACT would have to pay more than 25 per cent of their income in rent for appropriate housing; and 11,800 households would have to pay more than 30 per cent of their income in rent if government assistance was not provided. Those estimates are also based on information from the 1991 census.

An estimated 20 per cent of households with a disabled member are public tenants, although public housing makes up only about 11.5 per cent of our stock. Also, since 1990-91, there has been a net migration of people aged 60-plus years to the ACT. The number in this age group may rise by as much as 18,400, or an 85 per cent jump, by the year 2010. The net migration of older people to the ACT partly reflects its role as a service centre for surrounding regions.

Current annual expenditure on maintenance of ACT public housing stock is around $15m. I think Ms Reilly was quoted in the press as saying it was $1.75m. I do not know where she got that figure from, but it is $15m. This is a very important factor, too; an important factor regardless of who is in government. It has been difficult to adequately maintain some stock, and that has been due in part to the restrictions on the use of funds imposed by the Commonwealth-State Housing Agreement, that is, the current one, and in part to the low level of rent collected, as 87 per cent of our current tenants are on rental rebates. Under the terms of the 1996 Commonwealth-State Housing Agreement and its predecessor, all proceeds from the sale of public housing must be reinvested in the purchase or upgrading of replacement stock. Until the new arrangements are in place, which will occur no earlier than the start of the next financial year, 1997-98, this requirement will continue to apply and will govern the way in which ACT Housing operates.

I come now, Madam Deputy Speaker, to the rights of public tenants. The rights of public tenants will be protected. Tenants will be required to move from their dwellings only in special circumstances, such as if a major refurbishment is required. In those circumstances, consultations with tenants will take place, as they have been undertaken,

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