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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1)
2014-06-19 Daily Xml
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Public Sector Change Projects

The Hon. P. CAICA (Colton) (14:44): My question is to the Minister for the Public Sector. Can the minister inform the house about the Change@SA program?

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Minister for Automotive Transformation, Minister for the Public Sector) (14:44): Change@South Australia is about renewal and driving the government's commitment to improving public sector performance. Change@South Australia is part of the Office for Public Sector Renewal, currently being amalgamated into the new Office for Public Sector, demonstrating this government's integrated approach to reforming the South Australian public sector.

Change@South Australia is an innovative program designed to unlock the tremendous potential of the public sector workforce. The program focuses on achieving a set of values defined through consultation with public sector employees. The values in action are demonstrated through a series of 90-day change projects. Through this program, public sector employees are empowered to create innovative and dynamic workplaces, and foster deeper and more productive relationships with the community and business.

I am pleased to provide the house with information on a recent and very successful example of a 90-day project, affordable housing. The project was nominated by Junction Housing, an organisation external to government, which saw the 90-day change projects as a gateway to collaboration.

The purpose of the project was to bring community housing providers into the design and planning phase of affordable housing, creating a partnership of collaboration and co-production. The project partnership between government and non-government organisations was one of equals, and this is testified to by all parties. There were significant improvements needed within government which originated from misaligned planning and policy, and the impact of government policy on community providers was made clear through a co-design process.

An agreement was reached to determine ongoing partnerships between the two sectors for the delivery of affordable housing. The introduction of national regulation and the subsequent separation of regulatory policy and funding roles at the state government level, along with the increasing participation of cross-jurisdictional providers, sees the new evolution in the relationship between government and this sector.

This places greater emphasis on the delivery of affordable housing supply through partnerships between government and the non-government sector. The opportunity to be involved in the Change@South Australia initiative provided the ideal opportunity for government and these providers to collaboratively review current practice with a view to identifying ways to strengthen co-production and collaboration.

The Change@South Australia project structure provided a safe space for conversations about the complexities associated with the development of affordable housing from both the government and not-for-profit provider perspectives. It was refreshing how quickly people divested themselves of their individual or organisation's positions and quickly took on a collective and collaborative approach to creating meaningful change.

The participants recognised that, while government and the not-for-profit sector may have different roles and responsibilities in affordable housing, they all understood that they shared a common aspiration—that South Australia be the most liveable place in the nation where people enjoy a high quality of life regardless of income and are supported and enabled to make choices to ensure the control that they have over their lives. Recognising that stable affordable housing is fundamental to this shared aspiration, there is a joint commitment to ensure a wide range of affordable homes are made available for purchase or rental, catering for different types of households.

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