Page 1259 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 29 March 2017
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housing, and there will continue to be public housing, along that corridor. As the minister said, it is currently being built and rebuilt.
Public housing tenants who have lived along the Northbourne Avenue corridor have in fact been supported to relocate to properties that suit their needs, including properties with access to transport, schools, health services. Sixty-five per cent of those who have moved have chosen to relocate to suburbs in Woden, Belconnen, Tuggeranong and Gungahlin. It is an indication that, as people move on with their lives and their circumstances change, they are often happy to change the suburb they live in. They may, for instance, wish to be closer to grandchildren or closer to the University of Canberra or CIT campus, or be closer to other family members. Whatever their reasons, their move out of the inner north has occurred with their participation and consent, as is their right.
I think it is very important to maintain and, of course, extend the spread of public housing in Canberra, and the Greens support the salt and pepper approach. Historically much public housing has been single residences or scattered units within other multi-unit developments. In these cases, most tenants are simply members of their community, as they should be. They are not identified by their housing status.
I think the current program of ACT Housing spot-purchasing suitable residences from the private market is a good one and I of course support having public housing in all suburbs. Possibly not as strongly as Mr Parton, I am concerned that the salt and pepper approach is becoming diluted. The proposed developments are in the order of 30 units in each estate. Previously I understand that ACT Housing was concentrating on smaller multi-unit blocks where it is likely that residents will be better integrated into the broader community. I am aware some of the developments in the Northbourne Avenue corridor have been smaller than 30 units.
This brings me to the issue which I think may possibly be the elephant in the room: money. We all know from our own lives there are trade-offs between amenity, location, size and cost in real estate. This, I am sure, goes for ACT Housing as well. I assume that some of the decisions they have made are financially driven, as their budget is clearly not limitless. I mention this issue because I assume that this is one of the hidden, not discussed motivations behind some of ACT Housing’s decisions. Of course, this has got to be an issue in part in all ACT government budget decisions. The government has a finite budget and its task is to ensure that it is best spent within the realities of the finite budget.
Turning now to community concerns, I and the Greens have a strong record of supporting community consultations. I point to Mr Rattenbury’s intervention in the previous term in relation to Red Hill and Yarralumla and my efforts in the term before that to ensure that all major developments have pre-DA consultation and that all developments are in fact notified to their neighbours.
As a strong advocate for genuine community consultation, good urban planning and high quality urban open space, I can understand the local community’s issues in this. The government of the day should treat public housing developments as requiring the best possible start if they are to be successfully integrated into the social fabric of the
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