Page 1298 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 11 April 2018
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of housing assistance, please refer them to OneLink or encourage them to visit the OneLink website.
The government is investing in public housing. The public housing renewal program is the largest investment in public housing renewal in the ACT. I have talked about this program a fair bit, because it is a big deal. This is a substantial investment of $600 million in renewing our older public housing properties. By the end of the program next year, 1,288 old, inefficient and outdated public housing dwellings will have been replaced with modern, energy efficient homes. Public housing tenants need adequate homes that meet their needs as much as anyone else, and this program, a program of renewal, will continue.
I want to make sure that our public housing works for our tenants. I want public houses to continue to improve tenants’ quality of life. The government is looking at some of the long-term questions facing public housing in the ACT. How can we make these dwellings more efficient and low maintenance? How do we meet future demand? How do we give tenants more choice? How do we make sure that as a community we assure the welfare of our public housing tenants? And how do we ensure we maintain harmony in our communities as well? These are the key challenges that our future asset management will address to build diverse and vibrant local communities, break down barriers that prevent social connection and provide opportunities for greater participation in critical education, employment and social activities.
Accommodating a growing demand for affordable and social housing is one of the challenges that we face as a growing city. The ACT is one of the fastest growing regions in the country. On the back of strong economic growth under this government, Canberra is growing by over 5,000 people each year. This presents challenges across government as the growth occurs. In my own portfolios, I see that demand grow across the board in demand for education at all levels.
This motion proposes that our social housing stock be benchmarked as a proportion of the total housing stock in the ACT. I want to see our public housing grow, and I am confident that under a new housing strategy, new land release targets and good asset management, the government will achieve this.
There are many competing priorities. It is the job of government to ensure that these challenges are responded to in a responsible and measured way. This allows us to build and provide housing for those who need it most. Investment in housing must take into consideration other important community priorities such as education, health and safety. At the same time, we are growing community housing, affordable rental and affordable purchase. Our housing investment needs to include many different forms of tenure that provide accommodation choices for Canberrans.
This government has recognised the important role community housing plays in providing affordable options for households, transferring 132 properties to CHC Affordable Housing, 53 properties to Argyle community housing and eight properties to Project Independence, and headleasing over 600 properties to the specialist and community housing sectors. While stock numbers may fluctuate from
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