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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-03-04 Daily Xml
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Question Time

Housing Safety Authority

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Leader of the Opposition) (14:19): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Minister for Human Services regarding housing.

Leave granted.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: An issue was raised in question time yesterday about a couple whose home is uninhabitable due to meth contamination and who wrote to the minister on 8 February on this issue. It has now been nearly a month since the minister's agency and the minister's office were made aware of the dire circumstances faced by this couple, who were forced to leave their rental home rather than be poisoned. The couple have had to keep paying rent on this home, even though they can't live there, and they now can't access their possessions without hazmat suits.

The minister's own substandard property register shows that no rent control notice has been put in place, despite the landlord admitting in writing that the property can't be legally occupied. Flinders University experts have been involved. This matter was vented on radio yesterday morning, and the minister was asked about this issue in parliament yesterday. My question to the minister is: given the amount of attention this case has now received and given it was raised in parliament yesterday, can the minister now inform the chamber exactly what she has done to resolve this?

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (Minister for Human Services) (14:20): I could have actually had this one organised to be a Dorothy Dixer, but the Labor Party have done it for me instead. We are getting to the point with some of the Labor questions that we might be instituting the daft question of the week. To provide some update on this matter, my office did indeed receive a letter from a couple in the circumstances as have been described.

As I mentioned yesterday, knowing that my staff are as studious and as hardworking as I do, they would have, on receiving this information, taken action immediately, and indeed they did. The letter was received. The couple were contacted very quickly. They were provided with advice. The matter was referred to the Housing Safety Authority, which took action within two days to issue an order. That order was subsequently published in today's Gazette, and the landlord has complied and is cooperating.

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