Page 482 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 10 February 2009
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MR HARGREAVES: You know, stoking these people up is as easy as cutting grass. It is dead easy. Mr Speaker, I have already outlined the financial benefits under the package. I will now set out the reform directions of the package and how closely they align with the government’s existing policies for social 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 Affordable Housing Agreement will be an opportunity to further achieve housing and support continuum from homelessness to home ownership—something totally foreign to these guys. They do not know about the continuum at all. They do not understand the word “continuum”. They would not have a clue what it means. The series of reforms which accompany the new package will provide further support for those people in the social housing system.
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 and which provides long-term benefits. 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.
It is a system that recognises that people often have complex issues, including disadvantage and poverty, for which it is well equipped to respond. It is a system which acknowledges that people may 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 detrimental effects on people’s ability to access or sustain housing. The government has been dedicated to improving housing services and implementing reforms aimed at providing a housing system that is more targeted and responsive. It is these reforms that have led to the development of an effective service continuum that supports people to transition from homelessness to long-term, sustainable housing, including home ownership.
The reforms directions of the stimulus package complement the ACT’s housing policies. These directions include implementation of support arrangements to assist social housing tenants to transition from social housing arrangements to affordable private rental and home ownership as their circumstances change. This has been a priority of this government and is consistent with the measures set out in the affordable housing action plan.
Other reforms include achieving better social and economic participation for social housing tenants by locating housing closer to transport, services and employment opportunities; reducing concentrations of disadvantage through appropriate redevelopment to create mixed communities that improve social inclusion; the introduction of a national regulatory and registration system for not-for-profit housing providers to enhance the sector’s capacity to operate across jurisdictions and increasing transparency through the establishment of consistent and comparable accounting and reporting standards across jurisdictions that allow clear and objective assessments of performance that meet public accountability requirements.
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