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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-09-22 Daily Xml
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Rental Affordability

The Hon. J.E. HANSON (15:06): My question is to the Minister for Human Services regarding homelessness. Given that the federal Productivity Commission has found record overcrowding in remote communities every year of this government, and the minister plans to build exactly zero extra homes in the APY lands over the next four years, can the minister understand why the latest Adelaide Zero Project numbers show a record high proportion of Aboriginal homeless people in Adelaide? Secondly, can the minister understand why the community was so concerned recently about her department's attempts to shut down a street kitchen that was set up to help homeless people from remote communities, even while the minister's own policies aren't helping alleviate their homelessness?

The PRESIDENT: That was a very long question rather than an explanation. I also indicate that the honourable member and other honourable members might wish to reflect on the phrasing of their questions when they are seeking what a minister understands, which could well be a minister's view, and that's out of order. But I will give the minister the opportunity to answer.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (Minister for Human Services) (15:07): I thank the honourable member for his question. I have to agree with my colleague, the Hon. Jing Lee, that I think the Labor Party have demonstrated that they are running out of questions, because all of these questions have been asked previously.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The minister has hardly started. Allow her to answer the question from a member of your backbench.

An honourable member interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: Indeed, in relation to the APY housing program where this government put its own money in—

The Hon. K.J. Maher interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The leader will be silent.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: —to support the rebuilds on the APY lands—

The Hon. K.J. Maher interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order, leader!

The Hon. K.J. Maher: Not a single house.

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: So the SA Labor government didn't expend any of its own money—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: They received a nice $290 million from the commonwealth to do a building program. The APY program, as I think I have said before—I do get tired of repeating myself but it seems that I have to do it a lot in question time these days—is that the rebuild program that we're engaged in actually increases the number of bedrooms in those houses, so there is some expansion of capacity there, but there are also issues in places like Ernabella where the plots have reached capacity, so there are other issues at play.

I think that trying to draw the distinction with the data that's on the AZP program that is reported through the Adelaide Zero Project is also misleading because there are a number of people who come from other communities who are represented through those statistics. Indeed, I do thank the honourable member for raising the fact that—I will get the right name of the title in a minute, but I think it is the wellbeing task force that we are running—the Safety and Wellbeing Taskforce, which the Department of Human Services and the South Australian Housing Authority and a number of other cross-agencies are involved in, is working to provide assistance and support to people to ensure that they can either safely remain here in Adelaide or they can safely return to their community.

It is very important work. I think it is disappointing that the Labor Party has chosen to take the issue of Whitmore Square, where some of their friends in, I think, the Communist League have been running an unauthorised site, an unauthorised service. Indeed, we are advised by the council that the Community Union Defence League, I think they are known as, were advised in June, from memory, that they needed to get permits and have not done so. If the Labor Party wishes to defend the sort of activity, where operating a food service without a permit is something that they support, then they should place that in one of their election policies. I am sure that would be of great interest to the general community.

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