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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-09-26 Daily Xml
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Affordable Housing

Ms CLANCY (Elder) (14:37): My question is to the Minister for Human Services. How is the Malinauskas Labor government—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Elder has the call. Order!

Ms CLANCY: My question is to the Minister for Human Services. How is the Malinauskas Labor government supporting housing for women?

The Hon. N.F. COOK (Hurtle Vale—Minister for Human Services) (14:37): I thank the member for Elder for the question. It's terrific to have young women leaders around the table to be able to advocate on behalf of people in their constituency as well as more broadly. The question is also really well timed after the recent announcements about the Housing Australia Future Fund that will support thousands of social and affordable homes in South Australia.

Safe, stable, affordable long-term housing is a foundation for wellbeing, especially for those who have experienced family violence. Many in our community face big barriers in our housing market: people living in institutional care, those experiencing homelessness, people with disability and, at a really fast rate—in fact, the fastest growing rate—women who are ageing or have survived family violence.

It was with great pleasure that I joined my colleague the Minister for Women and Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence earlier this month to break ground on a fantastic new housing development specifically for women. The YWCA are developing a new building on Hutt Street with help from the state government. The development is a partnership between them, HomeStart Finance, the South Australian Housing Authority and the Office for Women, and it includes a $5 million interest-free loan.

This is this company's first affordable housing development in South Australia, and we are absolutely thrilled to welcome them into the space. They have been doing great work here for decades, and they have significant experience in housing interstate. I would like to thank Charlotte Dillon, the General Manager for Community Housing in YWCA Australia, who joined us at the event, and as well Aunty Suzanne, who performed a heartwarming Welcome to Country.

I often talk to women in complex situations, and I listen to communities about what matters to them and what is needed to help keep women and children safe. The YWCA have clearly been doing the same and have responded with this project. The development is incredible. It is a $15.7 million apartment complex, providing 24 long-term rentals for women and children survivors of domestic and family violence. The homes will be classified as affordable and rented at around a quarter below market rates.

The YWCA have been supporting South Australian women through their various services for over 140 years, and this new housing development is the beginning of a new chapter in their work in South Australia. The new homes will provide a place to breathe, recover and achieve longer term housing and family goals. This development builds on our other work in social and affordable housing, obviously including the state government's commitment of an extra $232.7 million for public housing, the $135.8 million secured from the commonwealth for public and community housing recently and also our work to improve both home purchase support and private rental regulation.

For women specifically, we have also committed major upgrades for 45 public housing properties so they can specifically cater to the security needs of survivors of family violence, with the recent budget including around $7 million to ensure a dedicated domestic and family violence and perpetrator response program continues for another four years. This is incredibly important work and something that I am absolutely proud to talk about.

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