Housing Research Program

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (14:49): My question is to the Minister for Human Services. Given the revelations in parliament during the last sitting week that the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) had alleged links to the Calabrian mafia, and the minister was unsure whether she had received advice about AHURI:

1. Will the minister now advise whether, on checking, the minister or the minister's staff had received a brief about AHURI, and what did it say?

2. What further advice did the minister seek on AHURI?

3. Does she intend to continue with the election commitment to engage AHURI to audit the state's current housing assets—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! Leader of the Opposition, I cannot hear your own member ask the question. Those comments equally apply to the front bench of the government. You can start the question again, the Hon. Ms Scriven, if you feel you need to.

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: The minister yesterday talked about a conference, I understand, not this question, so the minister might like the beginning of the question again:

1. Will the minister now advise whether, on checking, the minister or the minister's staff had received a brief about AHURI, and what did it say?

2. What further advice did the minister seek on AHURI?

3. Does she intend to continue with the election commitment to engage AHURI to audit the state's current housing assets and map future demand?

4. Is the commitment to engage AHURI to audit the state's housing assets distinct and separate to the commitment to initiate full conditions assessment of Housing SA properties within 30 days?

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (Minister for Human Services) (14:51): I thank the honourable member for her questions. Can I just point out for the record that her comments in her first question are entirely incorrect and should have been corrected, if she had bothered to read the Hansard yesterday, where quite clearly they were indicated as incorrect. AHURI has not been indicated as being linked in any way to those mafia allegations.

There were allegations made in relation to an organisation called Development Victoria which was under the investigation of the Victorian government. The Victorian government has not investigated AHURI, and AHURI's reputation should not be sullied by the Australian Labor Party in this state. It should be embarrassed. Its own spokesperson for homelessness and housing, the Hon. Doug Cameron, is a guest speaker, a keynote speaker, at two AHURI conferences. So I urge the South Australian Labor Party to cease and desist from making such comments on the parliamentary record which are clearly incorrect.

I have received a lot of information about AHURI and have placed a number of items on the record yesterday. The election commitment is indeed to engage AHURI to audit the state's current housing assets and map future demand. Analysis is being undertaken by the department, the precise value of which will be determined. It is the intention of this government to engage AHURI as per our election commitment within our 100 days.

The final question relates to the asset assessment versus this, so they are two very separate issues. They are being undertaken by two separate organisations, as is appropriate. The asset inspection is being undertaken by RTC, and this was subject to a question which I will be bringing back further details on as per my commitment when I took some of those questions on notice. I will be bringing those back within a couple of weeks, and that is quite separate to AHURI, which is a research organisation to map the demand across South Australia. So they are very separate pieces of work and very separate functions.