Page 4523 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 26 November 2019
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ACT government point of view it might be affordable to look at, at the very least, stopping street homelessness. Street homeless people tend to use hospital and health services and police and ranger services more than average, even if they possibly do not want to use all of those services.
Other jurisdictions in Australia, like Brisbane City Council, have looked at the sums on this and have worked out that it costs a lot of money to keep people homeless and that as a society we would be better off if we took a different approach and looked at solving the basic problems of homelessness rather than tinkering around the edges. I very much support the process of renewing public housing. Given that the government will be looking at better use of existing real estate I think that that is a positive thing.
I am interested to read that the fourth goal of the ACT housing strategy has seen considerable progress with the land tax exemption pilot scheme in March this year. As I have told people many times, this was an item of the parliamentary agreement in the Seventh Assembly and I was responsible for putting it there. I am glad it has finally happened but I repeat my call to make it happen in a way that it can work, that is, not a time-limited scheme.
I am very frustrated that it started off as a two-year scheme. If you are giving a tenant a no-cause eviction notice you have got to give them six months. The Greens are not against that, but I point out as a matter of practical reality that if you have a tenant who would not qualify to be part of this scheme you have to give them six months’ notice. Then you have a year to offer them to move to a community housing provider and offer your house at 75 per cent market rental for someone who needs it. That is great. You sign them up for a year and under the original scheme as soon as that year is over you will have to give them notice again because it will to be a six-month no-cause notice because you did not expect the land tax exemption to continue.
The government has recently said that it might continue for another couple of years. I again call on the government to make the scheme open ended. If you wish to do it as a trial and continue to restrict the number of houses involved to a hundred, at least give those hundred houses a fighting chance to work out if it can work.
I am very positive about the rental bond help program, except I am not quite sure how you would work out that it exists. Clearly, some 644 people have worked it out, which is really great, but I would love to see a lot more publicity so that more people can work it out. I am very pleased that the minister has delivered this report. There are some positives but not enough. We still have a housing affordability crisis in the ACT and I would like to see a lot more done.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Health—occupational violence strategy
Ministerial statement
MS STEPHEN-SMITH (Kurrajong—Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Minister for Children, Youth and Families, Minister for Health and
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