Page 111 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 14 February 2012
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Furthermore, each dwelling built through NRAS attracts $6,855 per annum through the commonwealth for 10 years. Over the life of the scheme the 2,695 dwellings awarded to the ACT will attract over $150 million in commonwealth funding alone, providing benefits not only for the territory renters but also incentives for builders to set up shop in Canberra.
The ACT has been remarkably successful throughout this scheme, securing nearly seven per cent of all the incentives awarded nationally, showing that the ACT is punching well above its weight. With both the ACT universities building at least a thousand new dwellings through the NRAS scheme, the bulk of these benefits will flow directly to ACT students who almost invariably rent and who, with generally low incomes, are amongst those most in need of rental release. By providing additional housing for students we can ease the pressure in the private rental market.
Students will not be the only ones who benefit from NRAS in the ACT. CHC Affordable Housing, already a major provider of affordable housing in the territory, has also successfully applied to build approximately 600 new affordable rental dwellings. Under the ACT affordable housing action plan, the government has charged CHC Affordable Housing with a target of delivering 500 affordable rental homes and 1,000 for affordable sale by 2018.
To assist CHC in reaching this target, the government has provided $70 million in a revolving finance facility to the company. In addition, properties to the value of $40 million have also been transferred to CHC from Housing ACT. CHC is on track to meet its targets with 134 homes for affordable rental already being delivered and 138 homes completed for sale.
Public housing is a major provider of affordable housing in the ACT. As at January of this year, the public housing stock sits at 11,860 and provides homes to over 25,000 people. The public housing asset management strategy 2012-17 highlights the issues and challenges facing the public housing portfolio as it continues to meet the increasing demand for public housing.
The government is committed to improving housing affordability, and it is also committed to improving outcomes for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Under the nation building and job building economic stimulus package we have built an additional 421 social housing properties. Approximately one-third of these properties will be transferred to community housing providers to manage. These homes have significantly increased the supply of affordable housing in the ACT.
In January of this year I received a letter from the Hon Robert McClelland MP, the federal Minister for Housing, congratulating the ACT government on being the first jurisdiction to complete all of the projects under the national partnership agreement on social housing and the social housing initiative. I think that is an astounding achievement by this ACT Labor government. It has increased the supply of social housing. It has improved outcomes by homeless and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians and has stimulated the building and construction industry here in the ACT.
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