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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 2 Hansard (25 February) . . Page.. 404 ..

MR STEFANIAK (continuing):

The liaison with the AFP is particularly important, Ms Reilly. The AFP do, on occasions, have various blitzes. We had one recently, I think, in another flat complex, which was highly successful in apprehending a number of law-breakers who will be taken before the courts and charged with a number of various offences. In relation to that flat complex - I am not going to say which one it is - we have had some very good feedback from a lot of the tenants, especially elderly tenants, that things have improved. Those are the steps we are taking and will continue to take. I would love to be able to tell you that we could completely cordon off and quarantine complexes like Gowrie Court and all our other flat complexes and that there would never be any problems there. I am sorry; we cannot do that. We will do the best we can. I must tell you that we have made considerable improvement over the last two years on what situations were like at flat complexes, say, three, four or five years ago.

MS REILLY: Mr Speaker, I have a supplementary question. Will you, Minister, give priority to applications for transfer to other ACT Housing accommodation from ACT Housing tenants living in Gowrie Court and other flat complexes when they feel unsafe? We are talking about tenants here, not other visitors or whatever. Will you give that undertaking?

MR STEFANIAK: We have a very detailed, thorough and, I think, most appropriate system in place in relation to transfers and priority transfers. We have a number of people on the waiting list. I think it would be improper if everyone who felt a problem in a complex automatically got a transfer. I do not think that would be feasible. I do not think that would be fair to everyone involved. But there are processes in place, as you well know. If there are particular specific, individual problems of a very real nature that warrant a priority transfer, those are looked at sympathetically. Indeed, as you are also aware, there are mechanisms within Housing, within the system, if people are not satisfied with an application for a transfer being rejected, such as the Housing Trust Review Committee. It regularly looks at things like that. It is pretty hard to make a blanket statement that, yes, all people who feel a bit uneasy at something will automatically go onto a priority transfer list. Each situation has to be looked at individually, against all the various criteria.

It is important, Ms Reilly, that in these complexes we do all we can to alleviate the situation. I cannot stress enough the need for good liaison between Housing and the police and the need for police attendance. When that occurs, as it has done at some stages fairly recently, there has been considerable, marked improvement. Other steps which have been taken in relation to other flat complexes are also terribly important, such as tenants having a greater sense of ownership, I suppose; a feeling of ownership of the unit; and the forming of tenants associations, as has been the case at the ABC flats and Burnie Court, Lyons. Those things are obviously very much of assistance. I understand that those types of things are also being looked at at Gowrie Court.

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