Page 4199 - Week 13 - Thursday, 19 November 2015
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Thursday, 19 November 2015
MADAM SPEAKER (Mrs Dunne) took the chair at 10 am and asked members to stand in silence and pray or reflect on their responsibilities to the people of the Australian Capital Territory.
Housing—public
Ministerial statement
MR BARR (Molonglo—Chief Minister, Treasurer, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Urban Renewal and Minister for Tourism and Events) (10.01): For the information of members I will make a ministerial statement giving an update on public housing renewal, in response to the resolution of the Assembly of 6 May 2015.
On 6 May the Assembly called on the government to provide an update on the replacement housing for tenants being relocated as part of the public housing renewal program. I am pleased to be able to respond to the motion today. I have previously spoken about the public housing renewal program and the commitment that the government has made to providing new, modern accommodation for nearly 1,300 public housing tenants. We are working to prepare this new public housing as quickly as we can, whilst taking the care that is needed to ensure surrounding communities are given early advice and afforded the opportunity to provide input.
The design and construction of new public housing is progressing well on sites across Canberra. Twenty-five new public housing properties on Clive Steele Avenue in Monash and 20 new public housing properties on Goldstein Crescent, Chisholm are well into construction. Foundations for these homes have been poured and the frames are up on site. The Monash site is close to the Tuggeranong town centre and is on a bus route to several shopping centres and town centres. Whilst the Chisholm site is located on several bus routes, it is within walking distance of the Chisholm shops. These properties are expected to be completed by August 2016.
We have also identified a further 300 sites in Nicholls, Coombs, Amaroo and Moncrieff. The approval of the development application for Nicholls is currently subject to an appeal in the ACAT. I am unable to provide further comment on that site until the matter is resolved, although I understand negotiations are making good progress. It is a good location for public housing, located close to local shops and on a bus route to major town centres.
We are advancing well on other sites. The designs for 126 new public housing properties in Moncrieff have been prepared. The multi-unit sites in that suburb have approved DAs in place and contractors have been engaged. These sites support our goal of ensuring public housing is included in new communities. Construction is expected to get underway by the end of 2015. The DA for 21 dwellings in the Amaroo group centre on Mornington Street has also been approved and the contractors are expected to start working on that site soon. This is another ideal site close to local shops and services. There are also 150 dwellings proposed in Coombs. DAs for all of
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