Page 423 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 16 February 2016
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MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mr Doszpot.
Ms Lawder: Was that my first question?
MADAM SPEAKER: No; you have asked your supplementary, Ms Lawder.
Ms Lawder: But she did not really answer it.
MADAM SPEAKER: Our standing orders do not allow for any more.
Members interjecting—
MADAM SPEAKER: Mr Doszpot has risen to ask his supplementary question and I will hear him in silence.
MR DOSZPOT: Minister, why did the ACT have the highest percentage of clients with unmet need while having the highest recurrent cost per client accessing homelessness services?
MS BERRY: I think that the amount of money that the ACT spends on homelessness services in trying to keep people out of homelessness and in their homes is something that we should be proud of, not something where we should be thinking, “Oh, maybe we are spending too much on people to give them a decent crack at happiness by having a home over their heads in their lives.”
The ACT homelessness services have been working very hard, particularly under a funding decrease from the federal government, which is over $3 million, through the national affordable housing agreement. We also have the lowest number of rough sleepers, and have had the lowest number of rough sleepers in the ACT for a long time. The ACT’s homelessness services and First Point are doing a very good job of supporting people who are experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness and are supporting people to stay in their homes so that they do not fall into homelessness in the ACT.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mr Doszpot.
MR DOSZPOT: Minister, why did the ACT have the second highest recurrent cost per person of the population but such a high level of unmet need in Australia for housing and homelessness services in 2014-15?
MS BERRY: I did give some data on this previously. Our waiting list is 21 per cent of our housing stock. If we compare that to New South Wales, their waiting list is 53 per cent of their housing stock, in Victoria it is 55 per cent of their housing stock, and in Western Australia it is 70 per cent of their housing stock. Queensland is the closest to us, with 25 per cent.
I think those figures show that we are doing a very good job, but of course we can always do better with supporting people in homelessness services, and in getting them
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