Office for Regional Housing

Mr HUGHES (Giles) (14:57): My question is to the Minister for Housing and Urban Development. Can the minister provide an update on the Office for Regional Housing?

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION (Taylor—Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Minister for Housing Infrastructure, Minister for Planning) (14:57): I thank the member for Giles for his interest in regional housing. Of course, there is nowhere where the national housing crisis has bitten harder than in the regions, and so it was great to go up to Port Augusta at the start of the year with the Premier and look at the site where Constructwell was going to construct four homes.

Of course, that is part of the strength of country cabinets, where the Premier takes his ministers out to the regions. I have been really fortunate to meet with the members for Stuart, Mount Gambier and MacKillop and, of course, the members for Giles and Narungga, all of whom have been very powerful advocates for regional housing. It is an important area, an important area where this government is absolutely committed to having real policy change.

We have established the Office for Regional Housing. We have secured funding for the Regional Key Worker Housing Scheme across five of those areas, which will soon be expanded to six. That is all about providing housing to healthcare workers and teachers and police, and people who make our regional communities and towns tick along and work.

Of course, we have also, after talking to local government, established a $10 million regional housing ROI, which is all about kickstarting their housing projects across South Australia. We want to work in partnership with local government. I want to update the house on all the work that we are doing in the regions, and I also want to thank the Executive Director of the Office for Regional Housing, Mr Matt Hunt, and his team for doing all of the hard work of getting around and talking to councils about all their projects.

There is an enormous amount of work out there that needs to be done. I don't want to reflect upon what had been done previously—which was absolutely nothing. Occasionally, we hear a few interjections from across the aisle, but let's not forget that very little was done out in the regions.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION: It was left up to the member for MacKillop—

The SPEAKER: The minister will return to the answer.

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION: —to talk about these things. So we have been out there—

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

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: Point of order, sir: I would ask you to ask the deputy leader to contain himself.

The SPEAKER: I think the person who needs to be reprimanded is the minister, because everyone has been nice and quiet all day, and then you come up and you can't help but provoke and antagonise the other side—so let's just stick to the answer.

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION: You are absolutely right, Mr Speaker; I will obey your ruling. I was talking about the Office for Regional Housing. They deserve a lot of credit, and here is all the work that's being done: in Port Augusta, the framework and external walls have been erected on four homes; in Mount Gambier, the framework is completed on two homes with a slab being poured on another two homes, and the builder selected for another two homes on the second site—so six all up; in Kadina, civil works are being prepared for the construction of five homes.

The Office for Regional Housing has also received planning approval for five homes in Renmark and four homes in Moonta Bay. In Ceduna, R.J. Scott Building has been selected to build six homes, with construction expected to commence in weeks, and we should see these homes completed by September next year. All these works will see 17 new dwellings under construction by the end of this financial year, with at least eight ready to be called home in early 2025.

The ROI process, which is really an important process, has yielded significant interest from local government, with the process receiving over 30 project proposals from every corner of the state. Those opposite should be very excited about this.

Mr Telfer: Super excited.

The Hon. N.D. CHAMPION: Super excited. The Office for Regional Housing will now formally assess those projects, and of course priority will be given to those projects that are investment ready, that are able to commence within the next 12 months, and I look forward to providing the house with a further update about those really important projects. We are committed to the regions and we are committed to regional housing. It's going to be, I think, one of the great policy achievements of this government.