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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 12 Hansard (19 November) . . Page.. 3793 ..

MS REILLY (continuing):

There is an issue in relation to the Kick Start program that is of grave concern, and this was raised in the Estimates Committee. We have an expenditure of $2.5m, which will be under the auspices of one bank. There was no tender system undertaken to decide which lending authority would look after the Kick Start program. I am sure that there are other lending authorities in this town that would have been interested in business of this size. I think this is something of grave concern. If they are not going to tender for a $2.5m project, what about some of the other projects that are around that are for smaller amounts? We will look at Kick Start also in relation to jobs, and this is going to be an interesting review process.

The other part of the housing budget that was extremely interesting was a loss of $10.4m, which was paid back to the Federal Government to look after Costello's black hole.

Mr De Domenico: No; it was Beazley's black hole.

MS REILLY: It is Costello who seems to be attached to the black hole. No-one else can find it. This amazing generosity of the ACT Government to hand back such a high proportion of its housing budget - $10.4m out of a housing construction budget - is of such import that it was raised last Friday at a national meeting of housing workers. It was seen as quite astounding that we would hand back that amount of money and that they would take that amount of money out of something as important and as vital to industry and jobs as the housing budget. As a lot of the housing authorities realise, and as a lot of the workers in the housing construction industry realise, you take money out of the construction industry, you take money out of the housing budget, and this affects jobs and it affects construction.

Of course, we have the selling of 180 to 200 houses, which is expected to realise $21m. That will be reinvested in housing, as required under the Commonwealth-State Housing Agreement and also as the Minister has made the commitment to do this. There will be the further construction that is supposedly to replace those that are sold; but we will not have an increase in - - -

Mr De Domenico: More jobs, as you build houses.

MS REILLY: Mr Speaker, may I have an opportunity to speak without other people interrupting?

MR SPEAKER: Yes. Continue.

MS REILLY: In relation to the replacement of 180 to 200 units, these will take time to be constructed, for obvious reasons. At the same time there will be the loss of the 180 to 200 units that are sold. The number of housing units that are available for low-income people in the ACT will, in this year in particular, be reduced. Housing sales in some areas have gone ahead apace. Mr Stefaniak has told us how much has been realised to date. There has been $11m to $13m, I think, already made in housing sales, because we are selling considerably more houses in a very flat market at this time in the ACT. One is left to wonder about the sort of business understanding of those that want to sell so many houses at a time when the housing market is extremely flat. One wonders again about the valuations and what is being realised from those units that are being sold. So, the waiting

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