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

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 14 Hansard (10 December) . . Page.. 5064 ..

MRS BURKE (continuing):

Mr Speaker, I am not saying that some people do not deserve to be evicted or at least to face tribunal proceedings on their path to final eviction and I know that not only the housing minister, Mr Wood, but also many other members of this place are only too well aware of these cases. I can recall hearing each of our three crossbench members on at least one occasion this year bringing to the attention of this Assembly such a person's unfortunate plight, often by way of a question in question time, as indeed have I on several occasions. There have also been some healthy debates on such matters, including an MPI early in 2003.

Indeed, I shall quote some words used by Ms Tucker during an MPI she raised about the responsibility of the government to ensure that there is adequate public housing in the territory and adequate social support for tenants suffering hardship. On 20 February this year, Ms Tucker said:

My office is in continual contact with tenants of ACT Housing whose lives are filled with a range of difficulties. When Mr Wood was in opposition he spoke of the same issues, and I know he understands them.

It is my responsibility to point out to him that we are still getting this flood of calls and, unfortunately, people are still saying that they believe they are treated with contempt; they believe their individual circumstances are ignored; they find themselves committed to unrealistic debt reduction; and they say that they appear at tenancy tribunal hearings, for example, to find themselves confronted in a legalistic and aggressive manner.

That greatly disturbs me, as I am sure it does the minister. Ms Tucker went on to say:

By the time they reach us, many constituents are totally frustrated or intimidated by their dealings with an institution that seems to be unable to factor in sufficient care for tenants, and perhaps their children, whose lives have left them in very difficult situations.

I have quoted from page 327 of Hansard of 20 February 2003. Mr Speaker, today is Human Rights Day, so I think that it is very appropriate to be bringing on this matter. There may be many times that Ms Tucker and I do not see eye to eye on things, but I could not have put it better. I suspect that I am speaking for many others in here, especially Roslyn Dundas and Helen Cross, in saying that. It is against that background that I hope to receive wide Assembly support for this bill. Perhaps, with their invaluable experience, we can work together to make the present form even more workable and useful for all stakeholders.

It needs to be stated, as some members are not necessarily exposed to such cases to the same degree as others, that for every case you hear us talk about in here or in the media beyond, often out of pure frustration on our part or desperation on a tenant's part, or both, there are several-let's say three-more cases that I have managed somehow to help resolve, at least in the short term, directly with the minister's office. I would really like to thank Pat Madigan and, before her, Sue McInnes, departmental liaison officers working out of the minister's office, for their valiant efforts in difficult circumstances in so many of these matters.

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