Page 3370 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 19 August 2009
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would prefer not to go with that. When I had a look at the picture of the K2 apartments, they were identical to the Illawarra apartments in Belconnen, but with a couple of environmental things stuck on the top.
Finally, the longest living memory I have of an eight-storey apartment is the woman who lived in an apartment in Currong who had a mental health condition and who jumped off it. She jumped off it because she was in so much despair. We did not do the right thing by her. I have to say that nobody else has got that, but I do have that. We are a bit concerned about that. I would prefer not to support the motion.
MR COE (Ginninderra) (3.51): The Canberra Liberals will be opposing the motion. The motion does not address the key issues that cause problems in high-density public housing complexes. The Canberra Liberals believe that phasing out high-density housing complexes is in the best interests of the community and the ACT’s public housing tenants, who are some of our most vulnerable residents.
High-density public housing can create more social problems than it solves. This sort of housing puts people with differing and often complex needs next to each other in often disproportionate numbers. High-density public housing often results in tenants such as elderly people, single-parent families and people suffering from drug or alcohol addictions, mental health issues or other issues being placed in close quarters to one another, which can result in tension and social instability.
There are a small number of tenants in public housing who make life unacceptably difficult for their neighbouring tenants. Residents of high-density complexes suffer disproportionately from this and often do not feel safe and live in fear in their own homes. These complexes are difficult to police effectively, which, unfortunately, only worsens the fear that these vulnerable people feel.
Antisocial behaviour in public housing is a pressing concern for the Canberra community, especially in and around these large, high-density complexes. Making a high-density complex like the Currong apartments environmentally friendly will not address the concerns of the Canberra community; nor will it help make lives better for public housing tenants.
It is true that new buildings or a newly refurbished building will add to the physical comfort of tenants. A new or refurbished building, however, will only ever be a facade if the concept of the building remains the same. The Greens’ motion goes only to the look and feel of the complex, not the root causes of the social problems within and around the complex. A public housing nightmare with new paint and carpets is still a public housing nightmare.
This motion is typical of what we have come to expect from the Greens. The Greens are never willing to take a good, hard look at the real issues, including the significant issue of antisocial behaviour.
Who wants high-density public housing to remain at the Currong apartments? The city traders do not want it. Nearby residents do not want it. Residents who have lived in the complex do not want it. I am sure that if you asked the police officers who are often called to the complexes they too would say that it is a bad idea. Who is calling for high-density public housing other than those over there? The ACT Greens in the
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