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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2020-07-22 Daily Xml
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Affordable Housing

The Hon. J.S. LEE (15:07): My question is to the Minister for Human Services regarding housing stimulus measures in South Australia. Can the minister—

The Hon. C.M. Scriven interjecting:

The Hon. J.S. LEE: Do you mind?

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The Hon. Ms Lee.

The Hon. J.S. LEE: Can the minister please provide an update to the council about how the Marshall Liberal government is supporting the South Australian economy as well as our community through building affordable housing?

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (Minister for Human Services) (15:07): I thank the honourable member for her very important question and her interest in this area, which the South Australian government has taken very, very seriously.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The honourable Leader of the Opposition and the Hon. Mr Hunter, you are tag-teaming; please cut it out. Minister.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: In the 2019-20 state budget there was $42.5 million worth of stimulus funding provided to support the maintenance of public housing as well as to provide some affordable housing for South Australians, which is something that we had identified—affordable housing being a particular shortfall in our market in South Australia. The $21.1 million, as part of that stimulus money, has been allocated towards 450 dwellings, which includes some walk-up flat sites. Some of those works have already been completed. One of those sites included the rather infamous Mellor Court in Gilberton.

Before the COVID restrictions, I had the privilege of doing a bit of a before visit, where the South Australian Housing Authority, through its contractors, will be removing some of the external laundries, which are a very dated sort of set-up that was probably quite popular in the sixties but which these days have, unfortunately in that particular location, provided the opportunity for people who might be up to no good to predate on the local residents and tenants.

Internal laundries are being installed in those properties. There's painting works and a range of landscaping is taking place. I think it's been quite a demonstration to Housing Trust tenants that the Marshall Liberal government is very serious about providing them with a property which is appropriate and which values them as our tenants.

In relation to the affordable homes, originally we were going to be building 93 homes; it is actually now 100 homes. A couple of weekends ago I had the privilege of visiting one of the sites at Findon, where there's a number of properties that are being built. Of those hundred homes, 70 will be provided in the affordable price bracket, which means that they will be up to $419,000 as a purchase. The locations of single and two-storey homes are: Blair Athol, Edwardstown, Findon, Kidman Park, Kilburn, Morphettville, Mount Barker, Pooraka, Woodville Gardens, Taperoo, Tonsley, Croydon Park, Felixstow, Klemzig, South Brighton and South Plympton.

So there's a range of locations which are quite close to the CBD, which means that people who can purchase those properties aren't located on our urban fringes. I think I've heard the Hon. Mark Parnell talk previously about an index in relation to a lack of affordability—a VAMPIRE index or something along those lines—where often affordable homes are located at the urban fringes, which is a disadvantage; people need to drive in order to get somewhere. They are very well located. I would encourage people to look up the Affordable Homes website. These are very attractive dwellings, and we look forward to people purchasing and moving in.

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