Page 1550 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 7 May 2008
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It has to be said, however, that this government established an affordable housing steering group a couple of years ago. The affordable housing action plan that I released last year remains the most innovative, the most comprehensive and the most effective plan of any jurisdiction in Australia in relation to affordable housing. It is a model that all other jurisdictions are now beginning to refer to.
This plan, which has progressively been implemented for a year now, demonstrates the leadership taken by the ACT government on this complex issue. It has shown leadership in developing a unique, innovative and comprehensive plan and leadership in tackling this issue in the face of the inaction and neglect of such an important issue by the former federal Liberal government.
Unlike those opposite, the government does not believe that affordability can be resolved through a single measure. The government’s affordable housing action plan that I released in April last year includes a range of initiatives right across the accommodation spectrum. These include providing more opportunities for home ownership by accelerating the release of residential land, introducing diversity of housing products at various price points, inviting institutional investment in private rental accommodation, expanding the provision of community and not-for-profit housing, providing more targeted public housing, and facilitating supported and aged accommodation. The whole-of-government program is being delivered in partnership with the private sector and the community sector.
The government has moved quickly to implement our commitments in the action plan, and progress has been swift and substantial. Already in relation to affordable housing through the action plan and through the leadership of my government we have increased the supply of land to the market by an additional 1,000 blocks to an unprecedented total of 3,200 this year. We believe that at the end of the year that will actually be a total of 3,400. We have streamlined the release and approval processes for land, including responding to industry calls for englobo releases. We have mandated the delivery of new house and land packages priced between $200,000 and $300,000. We have provided more generous and more targeted financial concessions to help more Canberrans take the step into home ownership and to do so with greater confidence and less trepidation.
We have embarked on an exciting initiative that will involve institutional investors in the provision of affordable private rental accommodation. Members would note that this has been adopted by the federal government as an initiative to improve rental affordability. We have massively expanded the role and capacity of community housing by providing an equity injection of $40 million and a loan facility of $50 million. We have ensured that better and more targeted use is made of public housing. We have released two demonstration projects to showcase affordable land and housing packages. We have rewarded innovation and affordable housing design and construction through an excellence in housing affordability award. I am pleased to inform the Assembly that I announced the winners of the Housing Industry Association and Royal Australian Institute of Architects affordable housing design competition a couple of weeks ago.
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