Page 2319 - Week 06 - Friday, 27 June 2008
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I have seen it in other parts of the world. Cities that once were not safe to walk around at night you can now safely walk around. You can walk around New York city and you would be safer than in Sydney. They just took a view in the end that people had had enough of drug dealing in every park and on every corner and prostitution on every street—and that city has changed dramatically. We are not in that league in terms of antisocial behaviour, but we have small examples in our city that rival some of those experiences that those cities overseas used to deal with in the past.
One problem with public housing is that it sometimes becomes a repository for people with ongoing behavioural and mental health issues who really need to be housed where they can receive proper care. I know that is not too politically correct and that everybody should be able to live in the community and they are all fine.
Mr Barr: I don’t think anyone would ever accuse you of being politically correct.
MR MULCAHY: I am sure, minister; that is not something that I have been plagued with too often. But, to give you an example, for several months I have been following up a complaint from three constituents—good folks, good, decent people, seniors—who are living in a public housing complex, and immersed in the middle is another resident who they report they believe has serious mental health issues and who causes them a great deal of disturbance.
I hasten to add that I am not in a position to assess the mental health of the person referred to and so I cannot assess whether my constituent’s characterisation is in fact accurate. However, I have no reason to doubt the reporting on this tenant’s behaviour, which my constituents indicate includes screaming and other confronting and disturbing behaviour. (Second speaking period taken.) They say this can occur at any time of the day or night. This particular public housing complex is populated by seniors in our society—and people are terrified. You can understand the terror that people in their 60s or 70s would have when someone of stature comes rushing at them who appears to be violent and aggressive.
I have been following up this situation with the Minister for Housing for some time, and the constituents concerned are very stressed about the situation. They have been phoning my office. They have phoned, they have written to me and they have come to shopping centre meetings on a Saturday to press me to keep this issue going. They find it difficult to sleep because of the disturbances; in fact, they are talking about trying to move out, thus breaking up the social group that they have been very happy with amongst their neighbours in this facility.
I find it very frustrating that this problem has arisen, as public housing is clearly not an appropriate facility for people with these sorts of problems. The matter may have been somewhat delayed, obviously, because of the minister’s ill health—and I do not blame him in any way for that—but I really look forward to resolving the matter with the minister or the department in the very near future.
I am not going to let this one go away. I owe it to the people in this facility to try and help them find a solution. Initially, the government’s solution was: “Let’s have a
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