Page 4373 - Week 10 - Thursday, 22 September 2011
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would seem that the two sites—that is, Northbourne and the ABC flats—are likely to feature a high number of luxury apartments and that there will be money made from that project. The point that we make in relation to this is that we do need to ensure that through this public housing numbers are maintained and that low-cost housing remains a part of central locations such as Civic and the surrounding areas.
In the parliamentary agreement, under item 1.3 of appendix 2, the Greens requested that the government provide additional funding for energy efficiency improvements in Housing ACT properties at a rate of $4 million per annum, double what was provided previously. The Greens included this item in the agreement because we recognise that the cost of running a house affects its affordability, and that the age of many public housing dwellings also makes them costly to run. Recent statistics show that about 80 per cent of people that seek assistance for energy bills come from public housing.
In the last budget, the government doubled the commitment from $2 million to $4 million for retrofitting public housing in the 2011-12 financial year. Long-term funding for the retrofitting programs was due to end in June next year, but the Greens were able to get the government to provide $2 million per annum for the next three years for the programs to continue.
The Greens would, however, like to see funding in future years be consistent, at around $4 million per annum. To date, the government has provided upgrades to 25 per cent of public housing stock. Therefore, as these figures show, there is still a great number of properties to be upgraded for energy efficiency measures.
Another item in the agreement concerns the funding of a homeless persons legal service, which was funded and has been very successful, servicing a large clientele under the name Street Law.
The peak housing organisation in the ACT was greatly impacted by funding cuts in 2006, which saw its budget almost halved. I think it is important that the ACT has a properly resourced peak housing organisation, and the Greens strongly believe that this is something that should be addressed in coming budgets.
There are also significant issues facing the Tenants Union and the Welfare Rights and Legal Centre, which assist people with housing matters. The CLCs are turning away volunteers who want to offer their services because of a lack of space. These centres are vital to low income people in housing stress, and money spent here could prevent people from ending up in greater poverty or homeless.
In conclusion, the Greens recognise the significant housing stress that many low income families in the ACT experience. This is something which the government and all members in the Assembly must recognise if we are to provide safe, secure and affordable housing to the most vulnerable in the ACT community.
MR BARR (Molonglo—Deputy Chief Minister, Treasurer, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Education and Training and Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation) (4.47): I thank Ms Bresnan for bringing forward this MPI this afternoon. Housing affordability is a challenge faced by all Australian governments,
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