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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 5 Hansard (7 May) . . Page.. 1615 ..

MR WOOD (continuing):

8 per cent. Would you come up with a policy that would keep resources within ACT Housing? One of your predecessors, I just forget which one, took $20 million out of ACT Housing over two years. The sum of $20 million was taken out of ACT Housing and, as well as that, we lost the matching Commonwealth funds.

That was a massive attack on public housing. Will you promise to stop that sort of activity in future? When Mrs Burke talks about resources, I get a bit twitchy. The last budget is modest in what it does for housing, I will say that, but it is still the best housing budget that we have had since self-government. That is what I will do, Mrs Burke; I will provide the best housing budget that we have had since self-government. I am still battling away on it; I am still working on it. I still want more resources. I am very grateful for what I get, but I will continue to add to it. So let's be clear about that.

The second thing I confess to feeling a bit twitchy about is the stereotyping. Mrs Burke's words were better today, but they have not always been good. She said, "Yes, I know that the overwhelming majority of our tenants are wonderful."It is good that that is being said in here, but what is the message that is getting outside?

Mrs Burke: It's the wrong message you're putting out, Minister.

MR WOOD: The message is in your media release. To do a bit of lecturing here, watch your words. It said, "Crime and drugs scene all too common in housing, says Liberal spokesperson."I emphasise the words "crime and drug scene all too common in housing". I noticed today when you spoke about the police raids in Lyons that you used the word "Lyons", but the words used a couple of days ago were the particular place where it was. Mind you, I have to talk to the police, as police minister, about identifying a particular place. I did not see it, but did you go and stand in front of the place where the police raid occurred?

Mrs Burke: No, it was in the Canberra Times, Minister.

MR WOOD: Did you stand in front of it for the media? Apparently, yes. This is about public stereotyping. I would just ask in relation to our joint effort here that you be careful with the words you use in the public domain. The very clear statements that you have made thus far publicly-you were a bit different in here today-are that public housing is bad news.

Mrs Burke: No, you're wrong and you know you're wrong.

MR WOOD: No, it is not wrong. Would you put out that heading again today, or would you be more careful in the heading and the public presence of what you do? I do think that Mrs Burke is prone to making fairly sweeping statements, generalisations, and that does create a problem for us. I have to say that in opposition I took a different approach from Mrs Burke's. I did not take a public approach. I, too, had quite a number of people coming to me about particular issues, whether in the complexes or in the suburbs, more in the suburbs, and my approach was always a quieter and more private one because I understood the difficulties of public perception in this sort of area. But everybody to their style. I say to Mrs Burke that she should think about reducing the sweeping statements.

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