Page 3826 - Week 12 - Thursday, 30 October 2014
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
home. We will undertake the complex and expensive processes of demolition, disposal and block remediation. We will waive the stamp duty on the purchase of a new home, or the repurchase of the block, to the value of the duty that would be payable on the buyback price.
All families who leave their homes before the settlement will have access to the emergency assistance of $10,000 for interim accommodation and contents, with additional support for children. I am also making representations to telecommunications companies, utility providers, banks and insurers to seek their support and compassion for Mr Fluffy owners and residents relocating in the coming months.
We believe this is a fair and ethical position. But I acknowledge today it is not what everybody wants.
I am conscious of the concern among owners about their options to repurchase their land. We will work with those who want to do so, including facilitating access to land rent schemes, but we cannot afford to replace old with new. This is not about profiteering. On the contrary, our community is absorbing a major cost. We have preserved our options around the future treatment and resale of these blocks only to lessen the budget impact and make the scheme possible in the first place.
I also want to touch on the issue of contents, which I know is causing concern for some. Through the task force, the government has released further information this morning on contents which makes clear that it is not the case in most homes that all contents will need to be disposed of. For many homes, you will be able to keep the majority of your possessions.
The ACT government is acting to support people in our community who have been through an enormous ordeal. In some ways their experience has been that of a natural disaster. In other ways it has been more silent and more hidden. Some have dealt with it all on their own for fear of the stigma associated with Mr Fluffy. I would like to quote now from some letters sent to me in recent weeks from owners and residents dealing with the effects of this problem. From one home owner:
Emotionally, it is difficult to admit to your social circle that your home is a Mr Fluffy house. Reactions vary from horror to sympathy and people who visited in the past choose not to socially interact with you in your home. It is a difficult situation to live with …
From another:
We have always been able to help ourselves, have been fully employed in the workforce in the ACT for over 30 years, raised our three children and always paid our way. That is why the situation we now find ourselves in is out of our control and so distressing.
And from a third:
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video