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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-11-16 Daily Xml
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Housing Affordability

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (14:48): My question is to the Minister for Human Services regarding housing. Can the minister please update the council on the Marshall Liberal government's achievements since the last election to support more South Australians into safe, secure and affordable housing?

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (Minister for Human Services) (14:48): I thank the honourable member for her question and for her interest in this important area. Indeed, the pillar upon which we have placed our work is our plan, which has a number of actions to assist people into a range of different types of affordable housing, and we are really pleased that more of those actions are coming to fruition.

We did identify, back in 2019, that there were a lot of people who were in housing stress, either in the private rental market or people who may be suffering mortgage stress and therefore spending over 30 per cent of their income on housing, which is what meets the definition.

Increasing the supply of affordable housing in South Australia is a key aim. One of those goals obviously is to build over 1,000 new affordable dwellings in South Australia for those who want to achieve home ownership. People can register through the HomeSeeker website, which has enabled people to purchase 100 of those properties, that includes some of the 1,920 stimulus which was in addition to the thousand. So that has already been taking place.

We were very pleased recently to be able to announce what is a brand-new product or type of tenure in South Australia: build to rent, which has been discussed quite broadly. We are pleased that we have found a site at Eastwood on Greenhill Road, which is an existing property from the South Australian Housing Authority, the walk-up flats having been built in 1952 which are quite run-down. We are replacing one for one those social housing properties with 29 social housing properties. In addition, 80 affordable rental properties, which will be 75 per cent of the market rate, and 28 market rental properties.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The opposition are not helping. I am trying to listen to the minister.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: I think it does make a distinction between the way the Liberal Party is running this portfolio compared to—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: —the Labor Party.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! Conversations between members of the opposition bench are out of order.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: I suspect if they were in charge of this portfolio they would have just sold them, sold the land to the private sector, which is what they did with so many properties—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: —in the more expensive suburbs.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The Leader of the Opposition is out of order.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: Because they used the Housing Trust as an ATM. So in their time they sold 7½ thousand public housing properties—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The Hon. Mr Wortley and the Opposition Whip are out of order.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: Even though it is disorderly, I hear their disorderly interjections about more social housing. They are the people who sold so much of it and now they are complaining about it. It's quite extraordinary that—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: Labor in government.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The Hon. Mr Wortley should know better.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: They lament these issues and yet their record in government is true. The message to the electorate will be clear this coming election. Who do you think will look after our public housing stock better? Liberal. Certainly not the Labor Party.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: That will make a nice clip. The Labor Party guffawing like a bunch of crows about social housing. The louder they crow, the more we know it's hit a raw spot because their management of this portfolio was appalling. But I have been distracted, because the build to rent model—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The minister will bring her answer to a conclusion fairly soon.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: Mr President, I am disappointed that you are calling me to close off because I've got so many more things that I could say. We could talk about the—

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: Point of order, sir: I ask for your guidance if it's parliamentary to reflect on the conduct or rulings of the President of this chamber in such a manner.

The PRESIDENT: The President is giving some guidance, despite the fact that some would say that I and other presidents have misinterpreted some agreements. Apparently, there was some suggestion at some stage by the Leader of the Government that answers to Dorothy Dixers so-called be four minutes. We have been going over five. I ask the minister to draw her answer to a conclusion very shortly.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: So there is that example. There is also the—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! I would like to hear her.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: —Victory apartments at Melrose Park, which has just been completed by Junction housing, which has provided a mix of public housing and other tenures. Going forward, these models where we are blending public housing in with other forms of tenures and ownership is certainly something that we are looking forward to providing much better outcomes for South Australians.

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