House of Assembly Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2) 53 2 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Housing Trust Properties Housing Trust Properties Ms DIGANCE House of Assembly Elder Housing Trust Properties Ms DIGANCE (Elder) (14:21): My question is to the Minister for Housing and Urban Development. Can you update the house on recent steps the government has taken in support of improvement and renewal of the state's Housing Trust homes? The Hon. J.R. RAU House of Assembly Enfield Deputy Premier Attorney-General Minister for Justice Reform Minister for Planning Minister for Housing and Urban Development Minister for Industrial Relations Minister for Child Protection Reform Housing Trust Properties The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Justice Reform, Minister for Planning, Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Child Protection Reform) (14:21): I thank the member for her question. In fact, the two of us were fortunate enough the other night to be at Mitchell Park with a group of her constituents. The member for Mitchell was there and His Worship, the Mayor of Marion, was there and it was a very fine occasion. That is highly relevant to this question because local communities are already beginning to notice the benefit of more than 1,000 Housing Trust properties being transferred to the management of the not-for-profit sector. This is part of the government's strategy to build a stronger housing system to increase the supply of social and affordable housing. The transfer of some public housing properties to community housing providers is a key component in this strategy. Management responsibility for the 608 former Housing Trust properties in Mitchell Park has now been transferred to Junction Australia. It was just last week, as I said, that the member for Elder and I attended that function, along with the member for Mitchell. In addition to that, management of 479 Housing Trust properties in Elizabeth Grove and Elizabeth Vale has also been transferred to AnglicareSA. This is just part of a broader Renewing our Streets and Suburbs program that will see the regeneration of all Housing Trust homes that predate 1968 within 15 years. This change is designed to more effectively manage social and affordable housing and provide a holistic service to local communities. Community housing providers have access to a range of residential subsidies from the Australian government, tax and other benefits that public housing does not. Those funds are used to increase the supply of social and affordable housing, improve existing properties, and for other initiatives to benefit people living in those communities. We have now successfully transferred 1,100 homes to the management of the community housing sector as part of our plan to transfer a total of 5,000 homes to that sector by the end of 2016. Anglicare and Junction Housing invest the extra funds available to them into upgrading the properties and providing tenant support. Junction Australia, a leading independent provider of integrated housing and social community development services, now manages 1,700 homes across South Australia through its registered community housing provider Junction and Women's Housing Limited. In the first 10 days of managing these Mitchell Park properties, Junction Australia addressed 67 maintenance issues. Twelve local contractors were involved in this work and materials were all purchased locally. Anglicare Housing, another leading not-for-profit community housing provider, now has responsibility for the management of the 479 Housing Trust properties in Elizabeth and Elizabeth Grove. AnglicareSA has opened a dedicated housing service centre in Elizabeth Grove Shopping Centre. There, tenants can immediately resolve a specific housing issue and access broader Anglicare services. I have to say I am very, very pleased with the progress we are making with the not-for-profit sector. Already, the feedback we are getting from the tenants is that they are extremely well pleased with the new arrangements. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: A supplementary, member for Adelaide.