Page 3470 - Week 09 - Thursday, 21 August 2008
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MR HARGREAVES: I thank members opposite for their unbounded and unlimited generosity.
Mrs Burke: Unlike yours, of course.
MR HARGREAVES: Mine is unbounded and unlimited, with love. Mr Speaker, housing is one of the most important social policy challenges facing governments across Australia. It requires national leadership and a close working relationship between the commonwealth, state and territory governments.
I am delighted that the new Australian government has prioritised housing through the appointment of a dedicated Minister for Housing and has the commitment to establish a comprehensive national affordable housing agreement. This will bring together under the one agreement policy and program responsibility for homelessness, social housing and affordable housing.
In the ACT we are well advanced in developing a system that provides housing options and outcomes for people at all levels. The new national agreement will be an opportunity to further achieve housing and support continuum from homelessness to home ownership.
Mr Speaker, as a result of the work of this government, the ACT now has a housing system that is truly responsive to the changing circumstances of individuals and families, providing long-term benefits. It is a system that recognises people often have complex issues, including disadvantage and poverty, for which it is well-equipped to respond.
It is a system which acknowledges that many people have significant life events, such as family violence and breakdown, separation and divorce. Such events can have a major impact on people’s housing outcomes. Unemployment, ill health or mental illness can also have a detrimental effect on people’s ability to access and/or sustain housing. This is true for both the rental and home ownership markets.
The increasing cost of living and pressures facing families also highlight the need for an integrated system able to respond to people’s individual circumstances. As Minister for Housing, I have been dedicated to improving housing services and implementing reforms aimed at providing a housing system that is more targeted and responsive.
It was for this reason that I convened a Housing Consumer Forum and Housing Summit in February 2006, where I sought input from public housing tenants and community stakeholders on ways to improve housing services. Many of the public and community housing reforms which have been implemented over the last two years were first raised or canvassed through this forum.
It is these forums that have led to the development of an effective service continuum, supporting people to transition from homelessness to long-term sustainable housing, including home ownership. In particular, we have been working to ensure that low to moderate income earners are able to realise their aspirations to long-term housing and home ownership through reforms to the social housing system.
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