Housing Supply

Ms SAVVAS (Newland) (14:20): My question is to the Premier. Can the Premier update the house on the steps the Malinauskas government is undertaking to address housing supply?

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (14:20): I thank the member for Newland for her question. The member for Newland lives in a great part of our state where we have seen examples of land release leading to the creation of new communities, but just as importantly new homes that are accessible to first-home buyers. She represents a great community that has had heritage at its heart but is also going through a process of renewal in its own right.

More housing, more affordable housing for the people of South Australia, is something that we have been working very hard to achieve ever since coming to office. In fact, there is not a lever at our disposal that we are not willing to pull to make a difference to the supply of housing. There is an urgent crisis as a result of a lack of actions from governments prior. Whether it be in public housing, whether it be in land release, whether it be in tax reform, this government is doing each of them, each measure that we can deploy to have a positive impact on the market.

On Sunday, I was very pleased to be with the Minister for Planning to be able to announce yet another measure that this government is taking in respect of land and housing supply, and that is to acquire the West End Brewery site at Thebarton. Government is purchasing this land through Renewal SA in order to be able to master plan the site in a coordinated way to maximise the benefit for the South Australia community. This is to ensure that we see more housing supply on the market as expeditiously as possible in a way that reflects modern practice for a highly strategic site close to Parklands, close to train, close to tram, close to bus services and close to our CBD.

Key workers deserve access to this opportunity, and also we need more South Australians having access to affordable housing, of which there will be no less than 20 per cent of the 1,000 homes that will be on this site. This is a government taking active steps to acknowledge the crisis that exists within housing at the moment. What was the response from the Leader of the Opposition in respect of this significant government initiative? Well, he decided to jump in the media and make a contribution, which I think was telling. He said: 'It's the sort of socialist intervention that you'd expect from an eastern European communist country. We want away from that sort of stuff.'

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Cheltenham is called to order.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Cheltenham is warned. Order! The Premier has the call.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: These are alarmist, strong words. This is something—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Hammond!

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: —that the Leader of the Opposition must feel very strongly about. He must feel so aggrieved by the concept of a government purchasing land on the open market in order for it to sit within the responsibility of Renewal SA for a future housing development. He is clearly very affronted by such a proposition, except that got me thinking, 'Were there examples of the former government when they decided to purchase private land for the purposes of new development through Renewal SA?'

It turned out the Stalinist Rob Lucas decided to do exactly that on more than one occasion, so the Leader of the Opposition, who was the cabinet secretary in the life of the former government, must have been very senior in the politburo when that one was passed through the former cabinet at the Le Cornu site at Forestville. So there is yet another example of massive ideological inconsistency on behalf of the Leader of the Opposition.

The SPEAKER: The Premier's time has expired.