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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-06-24 Daily Xml
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COURT DELAYS

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS (15:09): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Leader of the Government a question about court delays and an associated housing issue.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS: The leader and some other members would be aware that in question time on 27 October last year I sought a whole of government approach to a difficult constituent issue. I raised a matter where a female constituent has a pending de facto property action in the District Court in which she is seeking relief to access settlement for her share of property with her former de facto partner, and that includes her registered half interest in their former residence. In my explanation I detailed my constituent's particularly difficult situation arising from the policy that states that if you are a registered proprietor of property you cannot access or even get on to the list of people seeking public housing through Housing SA.

So, you have a situation where a registered proprietor of property cannot live in it at the present time, access it, use the money from it or even borrow against it to secure other accommodation. The legal status means that they are excluded from being on a public housing list or having access to it, yet at the same time they face a significant delay in the resolution of civil court proceedings.

I previously raised this constituent's case with the housing minister by correspondence on two occasions. In addition, the situation was brought to the attention of the then attorney-general by the member for Bragg in another place. My constituent, who has been forced to live with relatives for many months, is continually frustrated by the presence of empty Housing Trust accommodation in the near vicinity of her temporary abode. She has also had the ongoing frustration that, despite predictions that court matters would have been concluded by March/April this year, they remain unresolved.

The leader assured me last October that he would pass this matter on to the other ministers involved. I provided the constituent's details the same day and I understand he took up this matter. However, despite my regular queries to the leader's office, no responses were received prior to the election. Following further discussion and correspondence with the leader personally and with his office, I received a letter from the new Attorney-General, the Hon. John Rau, on 20 May this year. This correspondence dealt with the history of the civil matter and the delays therein. However, given my request for a whole-of-government approach, I am disappointed that there has been no response whatsoever from the Minister for Housing. My questions are:

1. Will the Leader of the Government as a matter of priority seek a response from the Minister for Housing?

2. In doing so, will he emphasise my constituent's predicament of having to live with family members while there are many vacant Housing SA properties in nearby suburbs?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister Assisting the Premier in Public Sector Management) (15:12): I thank the honourable member for his question. I recall the particular issue that he raised and followed up with me. As to a whole of government approach in relation to housing, it is one thing to discuss a legal issue involving delays that might occur in the Family Court as to eligibility, but even if one was eligible for a Housing Trust home I am sure the honourable member is aware that there is a very lengthy waiting list for Housing Trust properties, so just being on a list will not necessarily resolve the problem. In relation to empty Housing Trust houses, I know from comments my colleague has made in another place—and this has been an issue for many years—that there are many reasons why there can be vacancies. It can be due to renovation or in some cases rehabilitation of whole areas. Often where some houses are vacant it can be because they are part of a wider rehabilitation process.

Much of our former Housing Trust stock is more than 50 years old and in need of renovation or, in some cases, replacement, so there are a number of reasons why properties are vacant and there is a waiting list. In some cases if they are elderly people they may be in hospital for treatment, so while a place may appear to be vacant it may not be. There are many reasons, but I assure the honourable member that the former Housing Trust, or whatever it is now, would not be keeping places vacant for no good reason. The legal matter is obviously more complex and, if it involves Family Court law and the like, clearly there are broader matters and commonwealth issues involved.

In relation to the general policy of making Housing Trust properties available, I am happy to see if the Minister for Housing has any further information, but I can assure the member that the Housing Trust is well aware that there are thousands of people on waiting lists, and I am sure that the department does not have houses unfilled for no good reason.

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