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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 07 Hansard (Tuesday, 29 June 2004) . . Page.. 2974 ..

talking to people as much as I am, because things are not getting fixed. That is why they ring my office and ask. I continue to follow matters through.

The government valiantly attempts to stand up for Mr Wood. I do not want to talk about him while he is not here. I am saying no more than I have said to his face before. I reiterate: we are paying more but getting less. The government needs to really get off its hands. We need to get resolution on Fraser Court and Northbourne Flats. We need to get those flats done, get the people back in and free the backlog on the public waiting list. Let us also see some action on the former Burnie Court site.

MR PRATT (10.58): I raise an issue about government-sponsored rental housing in suburbia. I will put on the record the many issues raised with me. Something needs to be done about this. In recent times, I have had a number of approaches about a housing problem in Chisholm. This is one of six or seven examples that I have picked up across the Brindabella Valley.

A house is occupied by three generations of people. In their yard they have one bus, three cars, one truck and a collapsed shed. The place is an eyesore. This house is clearly in poor shape. Despite many reports to the authorities, nothing seems to have improved there. This is pretty sad. It is sad for the people who live in the place, and it is very sad for the neighbours who worry about this house looking like an eyesore. It does not do much for property values either.

In this particular case, the police have been called numerous times because of late night parties. Vandalism and burglaries have been traced back to this family. A neighbour lost a wheel from her car and a laptop computer out of her kitchen, and on it goes. This been reported not only to the police but also to Housing to see whether something could be done. But nothing ever seems to improve. I have seen this repeated in Kambah, Wanniassa and Pearce. This is pretty sad.

The government does have a responsibility to ensure harmony in the community; it is a prime responsibility. Indeed, it is a duty-of-care responsibility to maintain the peace—if you want to put it in those terms. Citizens who are happy to be good neighbours with those living in government-sponsored rental housing in suburbia are entitled to believe that government will also uphold acceptable standards and make sure those standards are maintained.

The government also has a responsibility to ensure that those citizens, regardless of whether those tenants are doing it tough—we recognise that many of these tenants are doing it tough—know that as good citizens they have responsibilities and obligations too. If they do not exhibit such qualities in the first place, then somebody needs to encourage them—and perhaps it should be the government and not the neighbours because that only causes trouble. There is a responsibility there.

There are so many cases of this occurring in the Tuggeranong Valley. I have had the same people come back to me in shopping centres three months later and say, “Mr Pratt, you failed us. Nothing’s happened.” Or they have contacted the department and nothing has happened. It is a bit sad. That is not good. It leads to disharmony and trouble. I exhort the government to do something about it rather than letting this unacceptable practice go on.

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