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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-02-24 Daily Xml
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AFFORDABLE HOUSING

Mr PICCOLO (Light) (14:20): My question is to the Minister for Housing. Can the minister update the house on South Australia's continued success in the delivery of affordable housing to South Australians?

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE (Wright—Minister for Families and Communities, Minister for Housing, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Disability) (14:20): The Productivity Commission's 2011 Report on Government Services once again highlighted South Australia's leading position in the delivery of affordable housing. South Australia continues to provide more public housing per capita than any other state or territory.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: With 7.3 per cent of the population, we provide more than 12 per cent of the public housing. If the rest of the country followed our lead, there would be 571,000 public housing dwellings in Australia rather than 333,000.

As well as providing more public housing for South Australians, we also target that assistance more effectively. In 2009-10, South Australia ranked second highest in the proportion of new housing allocations to special needs households and allocated over 80 per cent to households determined to have greatest need (that is, of course, in comparison to 48.6 per cent under the Liberal government). These households often require additional support such as disability modifications or flexibility with moving in.

Despite these challenges, South Australia maintained the second quickest turnaround times, ensuring that vulnerable families get the help they need sooner. When the Liberals were in government we weren't second best. We were second last.

Mr WILLIAMS: I have a point of order, Madam Speaker The minister is starting to debate the answer.

An honourable member interjecting:

Mr WILLIAMS: Yes, she is.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for MacKillop will sit down. I will listen very carefully to the minister's answer. At this stage I will not concede.

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: Thank you, ma'am. I am reporting from the ROGS data which states 18.4 working days under Labor and 51 days under the Liberals. We provide more opportunities more quickly to those who need it most. We also do it below the average recurrent cost. Not only does South Australia perform well on the level of opportunity, turnaround times and efficiency, but also South Australia ranked second in customer satisfaction, with over 81 per cent of tenants reporting that they were satisfied or very satisfied.

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: I beg your pardon?

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: I bet you wish you had 81 per cent satisfaction from your colleagues, because you wouldn't be sitting where you are now.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Does the member for MacKillop have a point of order?

Mr WILLIAMS: The minister is now debating, Madam Speaker.

The SPEAKER: Yes, I will uphold that. Minister, can you finish your answer, please? We need to be careful.

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: Thank you, Madam Speaker, but there is a bit to go. Under the Liberals there was only 75 per cent satisfaction, but I do note the member for Bragg wishes she had 81 per cent satisfaction amongst her colleagues. This was backed up by 84.7 per cent of tenants reporting that the amenity of their properties met their needs and 87.8 per cent reporting that the location of their homes met their needs. We are not resting on our laurels. We are continuing with—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister will be heard in silence.

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: —the largest program of social housing construction in 20 years, forging ahead on urban renewal projects and looking at better ways to ensure that our assets match the needs of our changing population.

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Bragg will be quiet!

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: That's a hard ask, Madam Speaker.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! There is a point of order. The member for Waite.

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH: Madam Speaker, the minister is reading from copious notes. Could I ask that you suggest she table the written notes she is reading from and put us all out of our misery?

The SPEAKER: I don't think that was a point of order.

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: Thank you, Madam Speaker. The misery is sitting right next to him.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: Housing SA has implemented a program to assist people with high needs by employing social workers to link new tenants with tailored support services. The homelessness sector has recently undergone sweeping reforms, and a $200 million partnership with the federal government is providing support packages to vulnerable people accessing the new stimulus properties.

I want to ensure that our community continues to have confidence in its public housing authority and that fairness, equity and consistency are at the core of our system. I want to ensure that we continue to lead and innovate. As such, I have asked my chief executive to arrange for Warren McCann, the Commissioner for Public Employment, to review, analyse and report on all public and any other sources of verifiable data (including the Report on Government Services, ROGS), and any data sets held by Housing SA as they relate to the operational performance of Housing SA. The member for Bragg was trying to rewrite history on radio on 17 February—

Mr WILLIAMS: Point of order.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Point of order.

Mr WILLIAMS: The minister is, again, debating the answer to a question. Madam Speaker, she is reading a written answer, and she cannot even have the wit to prepare a written answer without debating it.

The SPEAKER: Order! There is still no point of order there.

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: Talk about lack of wit!

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister will not respond to interjections across the chamber—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: —and the opposition will stop interjecting across the chamber.

The Hon. P.F. Conlon: So says the man with three votes.

The SPEAKER: And the Minister for Transport will be quiet also.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: Thank you, ma'am. They don't like the numbers, Madam Speaker. They don't like the numbers. She criticised the government for a public housing occupancy rate of 95.5 per cent, yet in 2000 (according to ROGS) the Liberals could achieve only a 94 per cent occupancy rate—the lowest in the nation, and in 2001 the second lowest in the nation pipped by Tasmania by 0.1 per cent.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Point of order.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr WILLIAMS: Madam Speaker, you have already ruled that my point of order earlier should be upheld; but the minister is debating and she should wind up her answer. Can you please ask her to put us all out of our misery?

The SPEAKER: Could the minister start to wind up her answer, please.

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: Thank you. Underutilisation—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: —is another area that is reported under—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: South Australia had the highest underutilisation rate in the country (complained about by the member for Bragg), but that is where a tenant has spare rooms they are not occupying, it is where someone has raised their family, their children have grown up, they have left and they want their grandchildren—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: —to come back and stay with them. The Liberals' policy was to force them out and move them into walk-up flats.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: Madam Speaker, under the Rann Labor government, we continue—

The SPEAKER: Order! Point of order. The minister will sit down.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr PENGILLY: The member for MacKillop has had several attempts, but the minister is just going on and on debating, honestly.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister, have you finished your response?

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister for corrections, be quiet! The member for Frome.

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