Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 5 Hansard (13 May) . . Page.. 1257 ..

MS REILLY (continuing):

this time of the financial year. If you are underspending your maintenance budget, it must also affect jobs in Canberra, because it means that contractors are not being taken on to undertake the work within ACT Housing. You wonder what the commitment to jobs in Canberra is when you can underexpend by that amount.

Another thing that people raise is the increase in the number of empty government houses. Is ACT Housing so rich that they do not need the revenue from these houses? Are we leaving them empty just in case somebody needs them for another purpose, or are we leaving them empty so that we can sell them and families can sit on the waiting list for longer? According to the 1996-97 budget, there was going to be a large number of sales. Many people pointed out to the Minister the difficulty of selling houses when the market was so low, but he knew better. By the end of March, sales were down by $4.5m on what was expected.

What has been gained by selling off stock across the ACT? There has been an increase in waiting lists, an increase in people living in rented accommodation or sharing with others and causing overcrowding, an increase in people living in rented accommodation and an increase in older people waiting for appropriate houses. Those still in rented accommodation now know that, come 1 July, there will be no access to rent assistance from this Government. They are cutting the number of houses available, but they are also cutting the rent assistance.

I am quite sure that both Mrs Carnell and Mr Stefaniak would be disappointed if I did not raise Kick Start. It is an amazing program. (Extension of time granted) How many other programs can reach three-quarters of the way through the financial year and have spent only 20 per cent of their allocation? We are looking at about a $2m shortfall, which the budget papers assure us will be spent by the end of the year. That is an awful lot of business being covered in the tiny amount of time left. As I mentioned earlier, where are the jobs? Builders and other people in the industry do not see Kick Start as the great hope for the building industry. In fact, the industry continues to have trouble in selling houses. There continues to be a reluctance in the market, due to other uncertainty, for people to take up the offer of Kick Start. They do not see Kick Start as being a kick-start to the industry at all. They wonder whether they have actually been dudded on the whole project.

If we had retained the Commissioner for Housing loans, dreadful though some people considered them to be, about 300 people would have gained access to loans and been assisted into home ownership in this financial year. Some of them would have come off the waiting list, and some of them would have come from public housing, which would have freed up public housing for people on the waiting list. The fewer than 100 people who have taken up the opportunity of Kick Start would have been able to get their loans from other sources. Kick Start only added, I suppose, icing to the cake. It is not helping people to get houses. People can get loans anywhere. One is left to wonder about who is going to benefit from Kick Start and who really supports the program. Yes, there have been numerous inquiries but very little action to follow.

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .