Greens, Labor call for urgent action on public housing

The Greens and Labor have called for urgent action to address the state’s public housing system the wake of last week’s report by the NSW Auditor General into the issue.

In his report, Making the Best Use of Public Housing, NSW Auditor General Peter Achterstraat found there were 55,000 eligible people on the waiting list for public housing in NSW.

Waiting times for a home were up to ten years, and the number of people on the waiting list could balloon to 86,000 in just three years’ time, Mr Achterstraat found.

“The time has come for the government to set a new, sustainable direction for public housing in NSW,” said Mr Achterstraat.

“Much of today’s public housing stock was planned years ago and is now the wrong size and in the wrong place.”

Mr Achterstraat noted that not all public housing was fully occupied. At present, 30 per cent of three-bedroom public housing properties are occupied by only one or two people.

The condition of many public housing properties was also an issue, he said in his report, which prompted a strong reaction from the Greens.

“The Greens are calling for an inquiry into the housing affordability crisis and an immediate injection of funding to address maintenance and build new housing,” said Greens MP Jamie Parker.

“After years of neglect under the Labor Government, the maintenance backlog continues to skyrocket [under the Liberals] and we’re seeing precious public assets fall into disrepair.”

Shadow Minister for Housing Sophie Cotsis conceded there were problems with public housing under the former State Labor Government, but said the situation had deteriorated significantly under the Liberals.

Ms Cotsis chided the State Government for its $37 million cut to this year’s public housing maintenance budget, and for selling off properties at double the rate they are being built.

“It’s just not sustainable,” she said. “If the government was serious about this issue, we would not see the budget cuts they have instituted.”

She said the problem was exacerbated by the lack of a dedicated housing minister in NSW, with the housing portfolio split between the community services and finance ministries.

“This is the first State Government in history not to have a dedicated housing minister.”

But Community Services Minister Pru Goward said: “In Labor’s last two terms of government they had a revolving door of six different housing ministers, who all failed to address the problems the Auditor General has highlighted.”

Ms Goward told City News the government was proceeding with a ‘bedroom tax’ on public housing tenants with unused bedrooms, in a bid to address the under-utilisation of public housing properties.

From September, singles will be charged $20 a week and couples $30 per week if they refuse to consider alternative suitable accommodation.