MELROSE PARK AGED HOMELESS ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (15:17): My question is to the Minster for Social Housing. Will the minister inform the chamber about last week's official opening of an aged homeless assistance program in Melrose Park?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion, Minister for Social Housing, Minister for Disabilities, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers) (15:17): I thank the honourable member for her very important question. Last Friday, I attended the official opening of the Melrose Park Aged Homeless Assistance Program. That was last week, when members of the opposition were in 'turmoil', using the language the Hon. Mr Ridgway flung across the chamber a little earlier. They were in turmoil fighting over their internal leadership.

While they were fighting over their internal leadership, this government was busy getting on with the business of governing the state, and I commend to the opposition this approach to being in this place: stop fighting amongst yourselves and get on with representing the interests of the voters who put you there. As I said, last week I attended the official opening—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Mr President, they can't help themselves.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: The turmoil present in their ranks—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The gallery is full and you should be on your best behaviour. The honourable minister.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Last Friday, I did attend the official opening of the Melrose Park Aged Homeless Assistance Program with my federal colleague the Hon. Brendan O'Connor, Minister for Housing and Homelessness, and minister Patrick Conlon, who is the local member.

The investment of around $200 million in homelessness support services in South Australia for the period 2009-2013, as well as an additional 635 new houses for those who are homeless, provided the opportunity to implement a number of highly innovative housing and support models within the specialist homelessness service sector to respond to people who in the past may have fallen through the gaps.

One of these innovations is the Aged Homeless Assistance Program (known as AHAP), which provides an opportunity for aged people who are 50 years or older and are homeless or at risk of homelessness to have stable housing and integration within the community through the provision of intensive support. Older people who are homeless have a significantly different profile from other older Australians, and breaking the cycle of their homelessness often requires regular support which is tailored to their individual unique needs.

AHAP clients are more likely to have experienced mental illness or have cognitive impairments, which is often the result of alcohol or substance abuse. They are also more likely to have complex health issues requiring support, and most of them have little or no family support. The clients in the program are supported by a social work team, and their focus is on reducing isolation, sustaining stable housing, providing integration with the community and connecting clients with health and other relevant service providers in the aged sector.

Support services for clients in this program are a long-term commitment. AHAP offers 48 sustainable housing and independent living support options across Adelaide. This includes the Melrose Park complex, comprising 18 one and two-bedroom units in a purpose-built complex, which is highly accessible to public transport, a major shopping centre and other community facilities. The program also has access to 15 properties in the northern metropolitan area and a further 15 properties in the south. More than half of these properties have two bedrooms.

The Melrose Park complex I visited and opened is managed by Helping Hand. The properties in the north and south metropolitan areas are managed by a number of organisations, including Housing SA, Unity Housing, Junction Housing and Anglicare. The program is currently operating at its capacity, and it has 53 clients who are receiving housing and their concomitant support. Many success stories have been achieved for clients who have been a part of this program since its inception in August 2011.

At the opening, those attending heard from Glynnis and Kevin, who reside at the Melrose Park units. Their stories told of a journey prior to finding an affordable and safe place to live at Melrose Park. Both had been marginalised by others in the community, and both had spent time living with family and friends but with really no permanent place to call home. Since coming to their current accommodation, they have been able to settle into a property they can both call home rather than simply a roof over their head. They have taken on a computer course, and they swim twice a week at a nearby pool, as well as taking advantage of the community bus to go grocery shopping for themselves.

I visited some of the units at the request of several of the tenants, and I had a chance to hear their stories and view the pride they have in their new homes. They have had the opportunity to put down roots and furnish their units with a significant degree of certainty, a certainty they have not had before coming to Melrose Park. The partnership between the commonwealth and the state, as well as partnerships with the not-for-profit sector and community service providers, has been crucial in achieving these excellent results at Melrose Park. This type of program and target population are a first for South Australia, and its success is likely to see more partnered projects of this type replicated in the future.

This is the business the government is getting on with, instead of playing pass the parcel of the leadership team, which the Liberal opposition is doing with their leadership positions. The music stopped, of course, when poor old Mitch Williams did not have the parcel and Steve Marshall came through and grabbed the parcel just in the nick of time. Long may it last! Long may the Liberal opposition be consumed with turmoil—Mr Ridgway has left now; I do not have to use his words—so that we can get on the business of governing this state.