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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-02-04 Daily Xml
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Homelessness

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Leader of the Opposition) (14:23): Supplementary arising from the original answer: minister, does your agency, through SACAT processes, evict people who have no other place to go?

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (Minister for Human Services) (14:24): There can be occasions when people—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The leader has just asked a supplementary. Allow the minister to answer it.

The Hon. K.J. Maher interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Leader! The minister has the call.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: I am speaking in general terms, not in relation to the specific case that the Leader of the Opposition has raised. But it is interesting because the previous policy for the Housing Authority, particularly relating to antisocial behaviour, was something that was very problematic because it was very vague and therefore very difficult for the agency to enforce. They were to get involved in all sorts of matters which might relate to people keeping dogs without consent on their property or disputes about where rubbish bins were located, a whole range of things.

We have made sure that, for instance, the antisocial behaviour policy is much clearer. I would have to say that I still do receive letters from Labor members, saying, 'There's a problematic tenant. Can your agency please do more?' On the one hand the Labor Party wants to criticise our policies for being stricter than under their regime, and at the same time their local members will write to me and say, 'Can you do something more about this particular tenant?'

I am not aware of what the particular circumstances are in this case. I am more than happy to take that on notice. Where tenants have been evicted, whether it is for antisocial behaviour—and I am not saying that that is the case in this matter—I have spoken to people with lived experience who have said that, 'Yes, you know, that was fair enough. When I did re-enter a Housing Trust property I was a better tenant because of it, because I knew that there were rules that would be enforced.' There are three things that we ask our tenants to do: to pay their rent on time, to be neighbourly and good neighbours and to look after their properties.

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