Page 1382 - Week 04 - Thursday, 30 March 2017
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can see from this is that the property market and its current settings are not adequately catering for the needs of these people.
The government’s decision is about how to intervene in the most effective way to support greater affordability for them. Supply is part of the answer, and getting the best result out of the affordable supply pipeline is one of the key questions the government is looking at. Our record in this area is strong. Since we commenced targeted work on affordable housing, the government’s affordable housing action plans have introduced measures that have been broadly successful. This includes accelerated land supply and a 20 per cent greenfield affordable housing target.
From the initiatives that we have introduced in the past, we have learnt that giving people choice and access to different types of housing and tenure is absolutely essential to empowering them and minimising housing stress. That is why I hosted a community sector workshop with key community sector representatives as well as industry representatives last year. The combined knowledge and experience at the workshop provided some key goals and focus areas for further reforms.
Some of our key partners in addressing housing affordability attended this workshop: ACT Shelter, Havelock Housing Association and Council on the Ageing, as well as the Real Estate Institute of the ACT. These diverse voices helped set a broad-based agenda which could generate ideas on how best to deliver more affordable housing as well as more effective and supportive homelessness services in the ACT.
The workshop discussed the importance of considering the unique needs of different groups and agreed what further detailed analysis was possible for initiatives and options that would need to be undertaken. Opportunities for action were explored in the areas of planning, regulatory and policy reform; housing supply and diversity; the targeting of housing support; choice and flexibility; and measures for strong and sustainable public housing. To build on last year’s efforts, today I have sent letters to industry and community stakeholders inviting them to participate in a further conversation about housing affordability.
In aiming to deliver increased affordable housing for low income households, we need a diverse group that represents the multiple ways in which the same problem can be looked at by different people. The group will work with the government to help develop a way forward that engages as many people in this conversation as possible and scrutinises the goals and initiatives that we consider for the future.
As I said at the outset, this is a complex issue and there is still more work to do. The government has made a commitment to develop a new housing strategy that will specifically address affordability in the ACT. It is great to have the support of the Greens and the Liberal Party for that. To find new solutions that make sense and work for our communities requires working closely with everyone in our community.
The challenge of affordable housing is a challenge not isolated to our community; it is faced by all jurisdictions across Australia. The need for a coordinated national response, with government policies pulling in the same direction, is clear. At a national level, as I mentioned earlier this week, the ACT government welcomes the
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