[First filed: April 06, 2009 @ 14:06]
John Hargreaves has been able to do an exciting joint media release with the his commonwealth parliamentary colleagues Jenny Macklin and Tanya Pliberseck.
The cause of the exhilaration is $11 million for social housing:
- The Australian and ACT Governments have committed to deliver 56 additional social housing dwellings across the Territory by July 2010.
The Federal Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Jenny Macklin, said the investment was part of Stage one of the $6.4 billion social housing component of the Government’s $42 billion Nation Building – Economic Stimulus Plan. Stage one comprises $692 million nationally.
“We are determined to do everything we can to support jobs and apprenticeships in the construction industry in these turbulent economic times,” Ms Macklin said.
“In turn, this will have a positive flow on effect to suppliers, small businesses and local economies.
“This funding will also make significant progress on the Rudd Government’s plan to halve homelessness in Australia by 2020.
56 dwellings for $11 million sounds like pretty good value.
UPDATED: Zed Seselja’s found a good issue in this:
- “This is another example of a Government Minister who has been forced to by-pass the Government’s own planning system.
“The $11 million dollars was gifted to the ACT from the Federal Government on the proviso that building of the 56 homes would be completed by July next year.
“By sidestepping around ACTPLA the Minister is admitting that the planning system is cumbersome and could not cope with such a short turn around.
“Mr Hargreaves has said that most of the new development would be on greenfields sites and land already owned by the Government, otherwise they would be subject to delays in the planning system.
Zed makes the argument that this shows how slow and useless ACTPLA is. Another question is what development will get lobbed on neighborhoods without notice?