Page 4395 - Week 12 - Thursday, 24 October 2019
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
commonwealth is taking a step down this path by waiving Tasmania’s historical housing debt, with the proceeds to be used for programs to increase access to social housing, reduce homelessness and improve the housing supply. I welcome this first step. We do need to increase the supply of affordable housing in the nation. One very practical way to do that is for the commonwealth to move beyond this first step with Tasmania and put in place a similar program for each Australian state and territory. This is the right thing to do.
To give a context for the ACT situation, we currently have a historical housing debt to the commonwealth of $115 million, which was inherited at the time of transition to self-government. In 2019-20 this debt will incur a repayment amount of $13.4 million, which includes $5.2 million in interest. The interest rates that were struck may well have been competitive at the time, at 12.5 and 14.5 per cent, but in light of recent ACT government refinancing of our own bonds at 1.16 per cent, and around 1.8 per cent for our long-term bond, we are being fleeced on these amounts. The release of the territory from this debt would enable new money, up to $13.4 million annually, to be redirected to the provision of much-needed social and affordable housing for Canberrans.
In this context, I have personally raised the issue with and written to the Prime Minister and the Treasurer, Mr Morrison and Mr Frydenberg. I raised the issue with Mr Frydenberg in four different ways over four different events in the last month, requesting the same deal for the ACT. I think I might have finally got some traction when I pointed out that we were paying 12½ per cent interest on one of those loans.
I would also like to acknowledge that this matter has come up in Senate estimates this week. In an exchange between the ACT’s two senators, with Senator Gallagher asking questions of Senator Seselja, it was a little surprising to read that Senator Seselja laughed off the suggestion that he could seek or push through a similar debt waiver for the ACT. I would observe that it is an odd state of affairs when a crossbench senator from Tasmania can achieve more through a Liberal government than an ACT Liberal senator who is a member of the government executive as an assistant minister, Senator Seselja.
Nevertheless, we will continue to pursue the ACT’s case with the commonwealth in relation to the waiver of these historical debts, as I understand every other state and territory is doing.
Investing in social housing acknowledges that, by providing long-term affordable housing for those in our community who need it most, we are contributing to reducing homelessness. Any waiver of our commonwealth debts would add to our already historically high investment in public housing renewal under the ACT housing strategy. I have publicly said that any debt waiver, any refinancing or any additional money that we can attract through a rearrangement or a waiver of those historical debts will be devoted to additional social housing investment.
Under our existing strategy, a $100 million strategy—which is, as the Deputy Chief Minister indicated, the greatest contribution per capita of any state or territory to increase and renew social housing—we are already starting work to deliver 1,200 new
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video