Affordable Housing

Ms HOOD (Adelaide) (14:59): My question is to the Minister for Housing and Urban Development. Can the minister inform the house how the community housing provider sector is participating in the design and development of new government housing allocated for affordable housing outcomes?

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION (Taylor—Minister for Trade and Investment, Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Minister for Planning) (14:59): I thank the member for Adelaide for her question. There is absolutely no doubt that there is a crisis in housing around the country, and there is a critical lack of affordable housing here in South Australia. The government is pulling every lever that we can to support developers, builders and community housing providers to fast-track projects to meet this challenge.

Yesterday, it was great to see the Prime Minister announce that the Housing Australia Future Fund is set to pass the Senate later this week. That is really welcome news—and no thanks to those opposite or to their party, which remains completely intransigently opposed to housing in this country.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Point of order, sir.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Minister! Order, member for Chaffey!

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Standing order 98: debate. Preferably, we talk about matters relating to the South Australian parliament here.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister is prone to a degree of rhetorical flourish, which does tend to invite interjections. I will listen carefully.

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION: I will try to avoid it, sir. We want to give community housing providers—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION: —those looking for certainty, developers, that there is a funding mechanism for the long term. We know that CHPs provide a really important role in the management and delivery of affordable housing, particularly affordable rental, and that that sector is growing.

Recently, Renewal SA invited tier 1 and tier 2 community housing providers to a briefing to discuss Renewal SA's plans to progress affordable housing projects at Bowden and Prospect. At that briefing, we gave community housing providers an opportunity to provide design input, tenant identification and management ideas to these projects. Renewal SA, through the government, want to de-risk these projects for the community housing providers and make them more financially viable for investment by the Housing Australia Future Fund. That is just the beginning of what we want to do.

We want to seek HAFF funding for the following projects: Noarlunga Downs, 600 homes, of which 20 are affordable rentals and 80 are public housing; Franklin Street, over 50 affordable rentals; Bowden, over two apartment buildings, over 90 affordable rentals; Playford Alive, 25 affordable rentals as part of 161 new affordable homes; and Prospect, over two apartment buildings 72 affordable rentals.

Just on Sunday, I was with the Premier in Prospect with the member for Adelaide announcing 180 new homes nearby the Islington Railway Workshop; 55 per cent of those homes are going to be either affordable sale or affordable rental. I would have thought that is something those opposite would support.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Florey, member for Chaffey!

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION: We want to make sure there is an affordable rental component in everything we do because we know it makes a huge difference. According to the most accurate figures I have to date on current rental data, in Prospect this would mean a saving of $7,600 a year for an apartment and in Munno Para, in the Playford Alive project, it's a saving of some $6,300 a year for a house. That makes a huge difference in someone's life but, more importantly, it places downward pressure on rents, not upward pressure on rents.

One of the things we are really keen to do is work with community housing providers, gear them up to take advantage of the Housing Australia Future Fund so that they can take their own projects there, so that the government can support them and so that they can partner with the private sector.

We see the passing of this very important fund as one part of a puzzle that we are trying to resolve. We are trying to push projects into our pipeline. We are trying to release land, and we all remember how much land was released under the previous government: just 185 hectares over four years. It was the longest consultation period ever.

Mr Whetstone: How many did you sell in 16 years? How much did you sell in 16 years?

The SPEAKER: Member for Chaffey!

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION: We want to pump in supply and those opposite want to oppose it.