Housing Trust

Ms PRATT (Frome) (15:04): My question is to the Minister for Human Services. When will the minister resolve the issue of an empty Housing Trust property in Fulham. With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Point of order.

The SPEAKER: There is a point of order from the member for West Torrens under 134.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Standing order 97 says:

In putting any such question, a Member may not offer argument or opinion, nor may a Member offer any facts except by leave of the house.

In the body of her question, the member included facts in the question about the house and its state.

The SPEAKER: Yes, it may also be that the question sought to introduce opinion or an element of argument, but in any case I am going to offer the member the opportunity to recast the question.

Ms PRATT: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Will the minister commit to resolving the issue relating to an empty Housing Trust property in Fulham? With your leave, and that of the house, I will explain.

The SPEAKER: There is no point of order before me, member for Frome, but it occurs to me that that question is infected with the same difficulty. It may be that there is a way to recast it. I will give you the opportunity.

Ms PRATT: Mr Speaker, I thank you again. Will the minister commit to resolving the issue that relates to a Housing Trust property in Fulham and, as I stated before—

The SPEAKER: Well, member for Frome, that introduces the difficulty that there is an issue with a home in a particular locality. I am going to allow the question.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Ms PRATT: Mr Speaker, I also sought your leave and that of the house to explain further.

The SPEAKER: Very well. Leave is sought; is leave granted?

Leave granted.

Ms PRATT: It has come to the opposition's attention that an empty Housing Trust property at Fulham has been left in a squalid condition. Footage from inside the home shows rubbish and dog food strewn throughout the property, power points ripped out of the walls, windows smashed and drug paraphernalia left lying around the kitchen. Issues at this property were raised with the minister's office five months ago and have still not been resolved.

The Hon. N.F. COOK (Hurtle Vale—Minister for Human Services) (15:06): I thank the member for the question. There are several things to say. This was raised with my office some months ago as a matter of antisocial behaviour. The member for Colton has received responses in relation to that. This is not an empty home; this is a tenanted home. Someone has entered the home and taken vision of it. That was not their home to take vision of. This matter actually, in terms of the research I have done since finding out about this, goes back to 2019. I was not the minister then.

Mr Cowdrey: The house was not in that state.

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. N.F. COOK: The honourable member in the other place—

Mr Cowdrey: Don't mislead the house.

The SPEAKER: The member for Colton is on three warnings. The minister has the call.

The Hon. N.F. COOK: There are several things. In the last four—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. N.F. COOK: In the last four years, 200 staff were removed from the housing authority under the previous government. That is 20 per cent.

Mrs Hurn interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Schubert!

The Hon. J.A.W. Gardner interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Morialta!

The Hon. N.F. COOK: I would love to be able to—

The Hon. J.A.W. Gardner interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Morialta is called to order.

The Hon. N.F. COOK: —recruit that many staff in that time, but it's very difficult. Two hundred staff were removed.

Mrs Hurn interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Schubert!

The Hon. N.F. COOK: Every year, the number of public housing properties went down. It has significantly compromised the ability of the tenancy officers, the housing officers, to be able to do deep and meaningful work with tenants who have a range of complex challenges in their housing properties. This tenant clearly has complex problems.

The ability for us to respond does have legal parameters around it. In the last five months, this particular property has been subject to a number of visits and formal warnings, as well as offers of help, so there is a process underway. There is a process underway to follow up this particular tenancy that is occupied by a very vulnerable person who has complex degrees of challenges that we are working with.

If the local member, and indeed the shadow minister asking the question, would like to have a conversation regarding this tenancy, I would be very happy to do so. We would like to see this person living a much better life and that property being looked after in a much better way. But, as I said, my information is that that property has been a challenge since 2019. It is tenanted; it is not a vacant property.