Page 4848 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 1 November 2017
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housing and it is something we need to consider from a local point of view, an Australian point of view and a global point of view if we are to address this issue.
Another issue I hear more and more about from speaking to older members of the community in particular is the current treatment by Centrelink of the family home as a privileged asset. That leads to some people making decisions that are possibly not in the best long-term interests of Canberra but in the best long-term interests of those people due to the strange treatment of their assets.
While the motion notes that we have the highest social housing ratio in the nation, we also have the third highest private rental and purchase prices. While many consider that we live in an affluent city—and, of course, we do overall—we need to remember that for those on low incomes who are paying more than 30 per cent of their income on rent or mortgage it is a struggle. The recent work ACTCOSS did on poverty in the ACT showed that there are some areas in Canberra where 60 per cent of people are in housing stress and are counted in the lowest quintile. We have poverty in Canberra and we must remember that.
It is a key focus for the Greens to make sure that housing is available for our most disadvantaged. If that works, it will be available for all of us. We have to be innovative. We have to be courageous. We need to develop solutions for renters as well as buyers, for families and singles, and for older and younger people. A number of the items in the parliamentary agreement go some way towards addressing this issue, and their inclusion in the agreement ensures that progress will be made on them. Obviously the summit is one of them, and I am very pleased to see the results from that so far. But we are also going to need to see more significant investment, as I have said before, in building additional and dedicated community housing across Canberra. The parliamentary agreement also includes an intention to grow and diversify the not-for-profit community housing sector through a combination of capital investment, land transfer and other means.
The Greens both federally and in the ACT have a focus on renters’ rights, and we will work to ensure that we are standing up for renters and for a better and fairer housing system. With an increasing proportion of Canberrans now seeing renting as their only option, including a substantial growth in renters for life, and with renters under pressure from lack of choice and unaffordable rents, improving the conditions of our rental housing as well as the rights of tenants is an area we should focus on. We recognise that older people often have particular housing needs, and options should be available for them that suit their circumstances and respect their wishes, including ageing in place. Equally, the ACT Greens believe that people with disabilities should have access to a range of secure housing options that meet their needs and wishes.
The $1 million housing innovation fund announced at the housing summit was another item in the parliamentary agreement which will support the development of projects like the HomeGround Real Estate, an ethical landlord scheme which gives socially minded investors the option to rent out their properties at reduced rates to tenants who need that support. It is working successfully in Melbourne now. It also includes another successful Melbourne scheme—HomeShare—which can match up older people living in large houses with individuals who need an affordable place to
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