Member of ACT Parliament maintains right to public housing

Thumper – unless things have changed radically in the 5 months since I worked at housing ACT it is closer to 18%. But without that 18% i think you’d very quickly find that the $90m deficit getting bigger. If you’ve lived in Public housing i’m sure youd agree that the standard of maintennance is pretty shoddy, and that spirals into much larger problems for the organisation which is somewhat mitigated by market rent payers as it is in all housing jurisdictions.

I would refute your claim that the market rent rates in public housing aren’t accurate. At present they are adjusted annually according to an independant valuation advisor. Granted they do a random sample and extrapolate to similar properties in the same location but even then those properties are reviewed and tested by the tenants ability to appeal against increases.

Your numbers on the waiting list are wrong, but the size of the waiting list is an inaccurate indicator. It is more a litmus test of the govt’s entry critera. if the entry criteria was restricted to those under 100k then everyone would be on there. Hell, i didn’t earn that much when I was at uni 6 years ago. All comes down to your definition of who is ‘disadvantaged’ and believe me, its a pretty fine line.

Loaded Dog, I think there may be two more MLA’s that are qualified to talk from experience in public housing – the Minister and Shadow Minister have both mentioned in parliament that they once lived in public housing.

Obviously, their circumstances have changed and either bought/moved out of a government house(ie. they both secured good jobs and recognised that public housing was for those earning less $$ and really needed the assistance)

Unfortunately not ….. he seems to have landed himself a plumb job as some sort of compere —

Speakers/Program ? Inverell Forum 2004

Dennis Stevenson
Forum Compere

Mr. Stevenson will once again Compere the weekends activities. This will be his 11th Forum as Compere and as always will run an efficient program with humour and good will. He is a former Independent Member of the ACT parliament and has been involved in the anti fluoride issue.

Senator Len Harris
Important issues that will affect the future of this nation

We are very fortunate to have Senator Len Harris, One Nation Senator for Queensland at this years Forum. Senator Harris was elected on 2nd July 1999 . He is a participating member of various committees including Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport. He is also President of the Mareeba branch of One Nation. He is outspoken on many important issues affecting the future of this country. He attended his first Forum last year and he returns this year by popular demand.

I was kinda hoping he was the ex-MLA driving a taxi around Brisbane……

lol !

My guess is he disappeared in a puff of logic.

Speaking of ex-MLA’s ….did anyone ever hear what happened to that Dennis Stevenson of the Abolish Self Government Party ?

Thumper – you won’t find all ex MLA’s in high profile directorships. I know of one who is now driving taxi’s around brisbane. not exactly the glamour life that you might expect from former politicians.

as for Public Housing being a money making business venture. you’d bloody better hope it is. otherwise you’ll be paying considerably more tax than you are. 15-20% of all public housing tenants in ALL housing authorities in Australia are paying market rate. It doesn’t necessarily mean they are afluent millionaires.

When people are sleeping in cars for lack of housing I think an MLA’s sense of entitlement to a public asset will be cold comfort to them.

This is such an old, old argument, but for the benefit of the uninitiated, here are some of the reasons Deb Foskey is entitled to stay in her government dwelling.

Obtaining government housing can take up to 4 or 5 years. Deb Foskey’s current relative affluence is not assured beyond the next heart beat, let alone the next election. Once you give up a government dwelling, you go, should you require assistance again, to the back of the queue.

Must a person move house every time they get a job?

The government has a very sensible attitude to this. If people’s circumstances improve, they charge them more rent, up to the assessed market value of the property. Government housing shouldn’t be a profit-making venture, no, but there is nothing wrong in ACT Housing making a profit on some of their asset base to subsidise the rest.

Additionally, people are not ‘individual housing-consumption units’. It’s a little bit utilitarian to suggest that one house is better for Deb, purely because it is privately owned and not subsidised by the government (although there is that thing called negative gearing) without taking into account some of the things that housing means to people.

Some people, and one might think particularly those of a grass roots political persuasion, get involved in their local community. Some people get attached to their house, their street, the local park, and the local shopkeepers after many years. They may have invested much time, energy and even money to make their house suit their needs. Some people’s children have friends nearby, safe and trusted neighbours to seek help from, basically they have a neighbourhood.

Are we to forcibly remove a person from their community and home because their circumstances have improved temporarily? Given that their continued tenancy does no actual harm (assuming that the profit made on market rentals goes into providing extra housing – it should, and if it doesn’t it’s not Deb’s fault), who gives a proverbial?

Lastly, I think it’s great that at least one member of the Legislative Assembly may have an understanding of the issues facing public housing tenants from the inside. Maybe if they all had to do a 12 month stint down at Allawah Court it’d be a good thing.