HOUSING SA

Mrs GERAGHTY (Torrens) (14:54): My question is to the Minister for Housing. Will the minister outline how the state government is making it easier for people to access housing services?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Minister for Families and Communities, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister for Housing, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Disability, Minister Assisting the Premier in Cabinet Business and Public Sector Management) (14:54): I thank the honourable member for her question. I know that she has a keen interest in public housing and has always been a strong advocate for public housing, and community housing tenants. Tenants and home buyers can now access a range of new, free computer terminals at major Housing SA offices to help them find the accommodation and housing services they need. We have also launched a new website, www.housing.sa.gov.au, which has links to information as wide ranging as affordable homes on the market to concessions available for Housing SA tenants. This new way of providing access to our services coincides with the start of Housing SA's new service system. Housing SA has expanded its traditional role as a manager of tenancy and property to become a brokering service for housing and support services. We now have teams of housing officers who are multiskilled and who can assist with all kinds of services.

Of course, for our existing tenants these are still the people to go to with any tenancy-related issues, such as rents, maintenance and queries about housing services, but they do much more than that now. Our housing officers help with:

community housing information and referrals;

private rental assistance, including bonds, and liaison with real estate agents and landlords about vacancies;

planning to buy a house, including information on HomeStart's EquityStart, Breakthrough Loan and other innovative home loan products.

Also through that website I mentioned, one can gain access to the Property Locator website, which, to remind members, is that place where we list homes for a limited period of time before they go on the open market to allow people on low to moderate incomes to get first crack at those homes. Further, our housing officers help:

if people are experiencing a housing crisis; and

referral to local support services, such as financial counselling or home assistance for older tenants or people with a disability.

This is about turning Housing SA into the first place to which South Australians go for assistance with any housing issue rather than an office of last resort, as has been the case in the past. Services will be tailored to people's needs to support their current living arrangements and then to help them move towards their future housing dream. And by this, I mean everything from support for people in need, through public and community housing, affordable private rental and specific services for older people, Aboriginal South Australians or people with a disability, through to home ownership options. It is a continuum of housing. It is the A to Z of housing that we are now offering, and our new website and publicly available computers will make it easier for people to access our wide range of services.

The SPEAKER: The member for Morphett.

The Hon. K.O. Foley interjecting: