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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-02-02 Daily Xml
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Homelessness Sector Staffing

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Leader of the Opposition) (15:56): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Minister for Human Services regarding homelessness.

Leave granted.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: During last year's estimates hearings the chief executive of the SA Housing Authority replied to a question about the number of staff in the Office of Homelessness Sector Integration and said, 'I understand there is approximately a dozen people who work within that office.' However, recent freedom of information documents (and it may be the reason the minister is familiar with the area) show that the Office of Homelessness Sector Integration has just three individuals, who comprise 2.2 full-time equivalents; that is, the head of Homelessness Sector Integration, one ASO3 administrative officer and one ASO8 policy officer, who works two days a week.

That is apparently the level of resourcing the minister has committed to reforming a multimillion dollar service for our most vulnerable. My questions to the minister are:

1. Did your chief executive give misleading evidence to the estimates committees, given the discrepancy between a dozen and less than three staff in this area?

2. Why haven't you, minister, taken steps to correct the record after this mistake was obviously found out during an FOI process?

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (Minister for Human Services) (15:58): I am pleased the Labor Party has such an interest in the minutiae of the staffing levels of the Office of Homelessness Sector—

The Hon. K.J. Maher: You may treat it as a bit of a joke, but we don't.

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: —Integration. I think it is important to point out that this area of the unit within SAHA operates in a way almost at arm's length from SAHA within the organisation, but there are many touch points for homelessness within SAHA. We also have a board that receives regular reports on this matter, so it is an integral part of the activities of SAHA.

Of course, we have the procurement teams as well, who have their own particular role, but the homelessness sector reform has been a very high-level area that has involved a great deal of resourcing in terms of the consultations, which I think honourable members may be familiar with, because they raised issues in question time last year. There were quite a few round tables in terms of consultation and quite a number of SAHA staff would have been involved in that particular area.

If the Labor Party wishes to misrepresent the role of homelessness reform, that is their wont, but it is an area that we take very seriously and that is why it is undergoing significant reform after the Labor Party was too afraid to undertake any reform in this area. The contracts, I understand, have just been rolled over for approximately 10 years without seeking improvements for those people who are experiencing homelessness. We have not been afraid to make this a high priority area because we know that it's important.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: We know that it's an important area of reform, and indeed I hear the members of the Labor Party guffawing. I guess that's par for the course because they do seek to mock the number of people who are engaged in this process. As the Leader of the Opposition likes to point out to us, people will read Hansard and people—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: People will read Hansard. There are people in the sector who know the reality. There are people within the organisation who know the reality of how much effort has been diverted to engage in this important reform.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Hunter is out of order!

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: Of course, one of the great differences between the Liberal Party and the Labor Party is that the Labor Party is obsessed with inputs and we are obsessed with outputs and outcomes. That is the trajectory that we are on.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: So what we want to see from our homelessness services is earlier intervention, reduced periods for people experiencing homelessness in those situations and for people to be rapidly housed with wraparound services. Those are the service outcome expectations that we have.

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