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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 3 Hansard (24 March) . . Page.. 796 ..

MR QUINLAN (continuing):

Might I suggest to you that that is a little shopkeeper's view of the world. ACT Housing's core business is housing and the Government's core business is people. The letter given to residents, the little bombshell they got a few days before the Government scheduled meetings, included a question and answer sheet. I ask members whether they would take reassurance from this question:

Will I have to move?

Answer:

ACT Housing will not make you move.

That, I am sure, is likely to engender confidence! They have dumped you and they have washed their hands of your problem, but they will not move you. They will not move you, because they have dumped the whole caravan park. Question:

Can I get public housing assistance?

The response distils down to: "Get in the queue. It matters not that you have invested your limited resources to stay independent from public housing because it is not attractive, because you do not want to live there, because you do not want to end up in Burnie Court or Lachlan Court. It does not matter that you have maximised your independence and, in fact, not burdened the taxpayer by putting yourself into public housing". Question:

Will my occupation fee increase?

Answer:

At the time of sale, the new owner will have the current occupation fee levels transferred to them.

Hey, that is okay, then. Not a problem. I think the Minister said in his speech that he did appreciate that there are people who have lived at the caravan park for up to 17 years. There are also young families there, young families who find that it is a safer and securer environment than in public housing. There are pensioners there getting on by their own devices. There are people there who have invested virtually all they possess, based on a government assurance of a few years ago. Yes, it was a Labor government assurance but one that subsequent governments inherited and must recognise.

Does this Minister know how many people would qualify for public housing? Did you bother to inquire before the decision was taken? If the sale forces only some of the park residents onto public housing and the Government takes action to meet that increased need, as it should, the decision to sell might be financially unsound. It might well be a very dumb decision, because you will be creating an extra pool of people who might require public housing. The point is that you do not know. You did not ask. Of course, if you do not care about an increase in the number of people for whom you cannot provide public housing, then financial analysis does not matter, does it?

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