Page 2111 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 6 August 2014
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MR RATTENBURY (Molonglo—Minister for Territory and Municipal Services, Minister for Corrective Services, Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs and Minister for Sport and Recreation) (3.52): I also thank Ms Lawder for bringing this motion forward today in national homelessness week. It is timely to have a discussion of these matters. As previous speakers have reflected on, the issue of homelessness in Australia is one that continues to provide real challenges to all of us in bringing some answers to the table. As the motion notes, we are in the midst of National Homeless Persons Week, a national week of awareness-raising and a time for the public and politicians alike to take stock of the issues and impacts of homelessness.
In my time as Minister for Housing I was presented with a lot of information about the very real and human experiences that lie behind all the quite shocking statistics and figures that groups such as Homelessness Australia publish. In particular, I have been taken both by the challenges and triumphs of the young people I heard speak about their experiences and the bravery it took them to talk openly about their journeys.
I was also impressed by the dedication, passion and professionalism of the housing and homelessness sector, both government and non-government. Every day in Canberra there are caring and skilled staff and volunteers out there working to prevent the myriad issues that can lead to people experiencing homelessness, to support those that are experiencing homelessness and to stop the cycle repeating.
Having spent the last 18 months as Minister for Housing, and as a Greens MLA, I believe safe, secure and sustainable housing is fundamental to ensuring that all members of our community have equal access to services and opportunities, and we are certainly not there yet.
Public housing holds an important place in the history of Canberra, and it is a vital part of our city. Our salt-and-pepper policy means that public housing is part of the fabric of every Canberra neighbourhood. This means greater social cohesion and it reduces the risk of concentrating and compounding disadvantage. But public housing also presents complex challenges. Housing ACT performs an interesting function. In my mind, it is an interesting mix of being a landlord and being a social service provider, and I believe this dual objective is fulfilled incredibly well by Housing ACT. I have no doubts they will continue to build on the ACT government’s ongoing commitment to the creation of more social and affordable housing, increased early intervention and prevention programs, and an inclusive community.
When I first took on the portfolio, I was surprised by the sheer size of our waiting list and the age of our public housing properties. Many of the flats are old, cold and not suited to the demographics of the people waiting for housing. The size of the waiting list remains, with many of those waiting on the priority or high needs list. That means most of the people waiting to be housed are doing it really tough, and it is almost impossible to prioritise who has the most urgent needs for our limited supply of housing.
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