House of Assembly Fifty-Fifth Parliament Parliament, First Session (55-1) 55 1 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Cost of Living Concession Cost of Living Concession Mr BROWN House of Assembly Florey Cost of Living Concession Mr BROWN (Florey) (14:29): My question is to the Minister for Human Services. Can the minister inform the house of any recent government initiatives to assist South Australian renters facing cost-of-living pressures? Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. N.F. COOK House of Assembly Hurtle Vale Minister for Human Services The Hon. N.F. COOK (Hurtle Vale—Minister for Human Services) (14:29): It really gives me great pleasure to talk about this, and I thank the member for Florey for the question. I have previously spoken in this place about the Malinauskas Labor government doubling the Cost of Living Concession. That is to happen over this financial year and provides an extra $39.3 million to around 200,000 households. We were set to deliver this policy under the existing arrangements, where owner-occupiers would get paid in August and tenants would get paid next March. However, on the day before the budget I received an email sent by Lyndal, a renter from the western suburbs. Mr Whetstone interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: The member for Chaffey is warned. The Hon. N.F. COOK House of Assembly The Hon. N.F. COOK: Lyndal wrote: Why do tenants have to wait nearly a year to get it, while homeowners get it this year in August? Our cost of living is high and probably will not change in the next 10 months. This seems very unfair to me as a tenant. Last night, my office was thrilled to call Lyndal and let her know that she would not have to wait, neither would the tens of thousands of renters who also qualify for the Cost of Living Concession. Lyndal was generous enough to join the Premier and I, along with SACOSS, at Parliament House this morning to announce the change. We are overdelivering on this election commitment with the help of constituents like Lyndal. Not only will people in need get double the amount of money but tens of thousands will now get their money earlier. By paying all the concessions together in August, more than $78 million will go directly into the pockets of those who need it most. We are also giving people plenty of time to access this critical support. Anyone who submits an eligible application by 31 December this year who is not already receiving the Cost of Living Concession will be paid their double concession. Our range of government concessions helps hundreds of thousands of South Australians every year and total more than $213 million. Concessions include free public transport for seniors, another election commitment that started on 1 July. Yes, renters are doing it really tough, and our government, the Malinauskas Labor government, is helping. South Australia has about 47,000 social housing properties, where tenants pay about $200 million less cumulatively than market rent. We may have had many more of these homes if 12,000 public homes didn't vanish under the Liberals in just eight years, from 1994 to 2002. We also help more than 10,000 private renters every year, saving them thousands in up-front costs. As has been said before, we assist with the bond and the rent in advance. We have committed $177 million dollars in new money to the trust to build those new homes and repair others. The Minister for Consumer and Business Services is leading a review of the Residential Tenancies Act. I have ordered a review of the Supported Residential Facilities Act with the aim of improving residential arrangements for people with disability. Yesterday, I received the first draft of a report I ordered on modular homes that can be delivered faster and at lower cost than traditional builds. I have also ordered a review of the emergency accommodation program, which currently costs $11 million to keep people in unsuitable motels compared with $4 million a year when the Liberals took government. We will improve life for people renting.