Page 765 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 17 March 2015
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so that they can move elsewhere. Under the amendments, landlords will also be able to terminate a tenancy agreement for Mr Fluffy houses. Support for tenants is available, including financial assistance if they are required to move at short notice.
The bill also seeks to remove unnecessary requirements where the territory is purchasing a unit titled property through the buyback program. As these properties cannot be acquired through the lease surrender mechanism, they must be purchased through normal contractual arrangements. Under the Civil Law (Sale of Residential Property) Act 2003, this would require the commissioning of various reports that are mandated in the interests of consumer protection for buyers and vendors. However, as the territory is acquiring these properties for the sole purpose of demolition, such requirements add limited value whilst, of course, increasing the cost and time to sell for owners who wish to participate in the buyback program. By removing these requirements we streamline the buyback process, which assists those owners and families in moving on as quickly as possible.
The bill seeks amendments to the Electricity Feed-in (Renewable Energy Premium) Act 2008 so that those owners of affected houses who have been participating in the legislative feed-in tariff scheme will be able to continue these arrangements. Affected home owners who have a micro renewable energy generator connected under the legislative feed-in tariff scheme will not be disadvantaged through having to leave the generator on the premises when they surrender it to the territory. They will be able to retain their 20-year contracts for the premium feed-in rate if they have a generator affixed to their new property.
The loose-fill asbestos insulation eradication scheme has been put in place to provide an enduring solution to the legacy of Mr Fluffy. In developing and implementing the scheme the government is aware of the impact on affected home owners and their families as well as the impact on their neighbours and the broader community. We are seeking to make the process as smooth as possible to minimise distress for everyone.
To help affected home owners, the asbestos response task force has engaged with entities such as the banks, ActewAGL and the Australian Taxation Office to minimise the burden on individuals. A personal support team is also available to help individuals and families through the process. Members of the personal support team are based at local community centres in Woden, Kippax, Dickson and Tuggeranong. They are there on dedicated days each week to provide face-to-face contact and assistance.
The amendments proposed in this bill play an important part in supporting everyone affected by making it easier and quicker for home owners to participate in the buyback program and assisting home owners and affected tenants in moving to a new home. Through the amendments contained in this bill, we seek to assist our community in getting through this challenging experience quickly and to enable affected individuals to move on with their lives.
Before I close, the Leader of the Opposition raised a couple of questions in his contribution. The first relates to properties where there has been a demolition and a rebuild of a new house. In those instances, of course where there is no asbestos
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