Page 4670 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 19 October 2011
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significant investment into social housing across Australia as part of the successful stimulus plan for the Australian economy. This provided $6.4 billion, and locally $87 million was provided for construction of new social housing properties, requiring 290 properties to be delivered.
As part of the government’s commitment to ensuring a sustainable social housing sector it contributed eight sites from the territory-owned land, an investment of land valued at about $30 million. We put that across eight sites in the territory. The houses built on this were located close to shops, pharmacies, doctors, bus stops and major transport links. Based on the supply of this free land and some additional financial contribution of Housing ACT, the number of properties that we have developed is 421—this is a 45 per cent increase from the commonwealth’s original commitment—of which 297 dwellings have been provided for older Canberrans. The new developments provided a substantial increase in affordable housing in the ACT and provided improved housing options for older persons, with energy efficient accommodation and lower living costs.
The government has been acutely aware of the need to provide housing that is energy efficient, and our ambition is not only to contain energy costs for people on low incomes but to assist to reduce carbon emissions and to contribute to the ACT government’s climate change strategy, weathering the change. The developments utilised a range of energy efficiency strategies, including gas-boosted solar hot-water systems. Properties have met a six-star energy rating of 6.5 stars or above.
With the development of purpose-built housing for older persons there has been a flow-on effect of freeing up larger homes and making them available for vulnerable families on the waiting list. To date over 200 properties have been returned from older persons moving into new units and this has been of great benefit in allowing additional families and vulnerable tenants to be housed. Of the 200 properties returned, 178 have already been reallocated, offering accommodation to around 100 people for specialist homeless services, 40 people living rough or couch surfing, and another 40 who were previously at risk of homelessness and who had a disability or were experiencing complex problems. The provision of accommodation for these vulnerable people has prevented them from returning to homelessness.
A report by the ACT Regional Building and Construction Industry Training Council on the impact of the economic stimulus package for the period from February of last year to May of this year provided positive data on the impact of the stimulus program on trainees and apprenticeships. Throughout this period 135 apprentices and trainees were employed. That equates during that period to over 12,000 days of work to many Canberrans.
I would like to congratulate Housing ACT, the architects and the builders involved for executing a job and doing it so well. I would also like to acknowledge the former minister for housing that implemented and was at the beginning of this project and had such a significant input into how it was run.
MR SPEAKER: Mr Hargreaves, a supplementary question.
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