How Public Housing is being ripped off in the Northern Territory.
This article is refreshing because it is describing accurately what has been happening across the states following a Council of Australian Government meeting in 2009.
WELL DONE TO 'NORTHERN TERRITORY NEWS'
No spin, no bullshit, no hiding the reality - simply informing the public of the flaws in its housing policies.
INDIGENOUS PUBLIC TENANTS WILL BE HIT HARD AND FURTHER DISENFRANCHISED AND DISADVANTAGED BY THESE STOCK TRANSFERS.
TITLE-
'PUBLIC HOUSING DWELLINGS IN THE NORTHERN TERRITORY SHIFTED TO AFFORDABLE RENT SCHEME FOR MIDDLE CLASS'
'THE Giles Government has been quietly taking public housing meant for the desperately poor to boost a rent subsidisation scheme aimed at the middle class.
The Government has promised to deliver 2000 homes by next year and as of March 31, 488 houses had been completed and 500 were under construction. Eligible residents will pay 70 per cent of market rents under the scheme.
“The Real Housing for Growth initiative will support the attraction and retention of low to middle-income key workers in the Northern Territory such as teachers, mechanics, administrative staff, childcare workers and hospitality or retail staff,” Mrs Price said in a media release.
NT Shelter executive officer Toni Vine Bromley said it was “significant” the CLP was removing public housing while wait times were, at best, three years (for a three-bedroom home in Katherine) and, at worst, 13 years (for a one-bedroom home in Nhulunbuy).
“There is no reduced demand for public housing and yet we’re losing numbers of stock,” she said.
“Affordable housing – that is for a different client group, and yes we need that too – but to actually get rid of public housing to turn it into affordable housing?
“We need to upgrade our public housing, so we do need to get rid of some of it, but we actually need to replace it. Even things like the sale of land at Kurringal (Flats), where’s the money going back into more housing? We’re not seeing where that’s going, but we’re losing stock.”
Mrs Price has still not revealed how much money the Government has made from the sale of public housing assets this financial year, nor how many applicants are now on the waiting list.
As of March 31 last year, there were 2748 general applicants, 683 priority applicants and 305 transfer applicants.
When asked why there were 53 fewer remote public housing dwellings, her office said “remote public housing stock no longer managed by the Department has been removed from stock figures” and offered no further explanation.
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The transferring of Public Housing has been happening under the radar here as well -
ONLY IN VICTORIA WE HAVE ALREADY LOST FAR MORE THAN A FEW DOZEN DWELLINGS !!
Public Housing has been transferred across and offered to a different clientele - as this article explains so well when describing 'affordable housing'.
THE LACK OF AVAILABLE PUBLIC HOUSING STOCK IS ALREADY CREATING AN UNDERCLASS OF HOMELESS AND DESTITUTE PEOPLE !! WE ONLY NEED TO LOOK AROUND US TO SEE EVIDENCE OF THAT.
IT'S NOT ROCKET-SCIENCE.
SAVE, FIX AND EXTEND PUBLIC HOUSING
OPPOSE THE TRANSFERRING OF PUBLIC PROPERTIES.
DEFEND THE RIGHTS OF PUBLIC TENANTS.
Housing Minister Bess Price has finally agreed to release current housing figures that show since June 30 last year there are 76 fewer public dwellings across the Territory – 53 fewer in the bush and 23 fewer in urban centres.
Mrs Price’s office said some of these urban homes had reached the end of their economic life, while others had been transferred to its Real Housing for Growth scheme, begun under former minister Matt Conlan and which Mrs Price was spruiking last week.The Government has promised to deliver 2000 homes by next year and as of March 31, 488 houses had been completed and 500 were under construction. Eligible residents will pay 70 per cent of market rents under the scheme.
“The Real Housing for Growth initiative will support the attraction and retention of low to middle-income key workers in the Northern Territory such as teachers, mechanics, administrative staff, childcare workers and hospitality or retail staff,” Mrs Price said in a media release.
The release failed to mention that an undisclosed number of the homes would come at the expense of public housing.'
“There is no reduced demand for public housing and yet we’re losing numbers of stock,” she said.
“Affordable housing – that is for a different client group, and yes we need that too – but to actually get rid of public housing to turn it into affordable housing?
Mrs Price has still not revealed how much money the Government has made from the sale of public housing assets this financial year, nor how many applicants are now on the waiting list.
As of March 31 last year, there were 2748 general applicants, 683 priority applicants and 305 transfer applicants.
When asked why there were 53 fewer remote public housing dwellings, her office said “remote public housing stock no longer managed by the Department has been removed from stock figures” and offered no further explanation.
****************
The transferring of Public Housing has been happening under the radar here as well -
ONLY IN VICTORIA WE HAVE ALREADY LOST FAR MORE THAN A FEW DOZEN DWELLINGS !!
Public Housing has been transferred across and offered to a different clientele - as this article explains so well when describing 'affordable housing'.
THE LACK OF AVAILABLE PUBLIC HOUSING STOCK IS ALREADY CREATING AN UNDERCLASS OF HOMELESS AND DESTITUTE PEOPLE !! WE ONLY NEED TO LOOK AROUND US TO SEE EVIDENCE OF THAT.
IT'S NOT ROCKET-SCIENCE.
SAVE, FIX AND EXTEND PUBLIC HOUSING
OPPOSE THE TRANSFERRING OF PUBLIC PROPERTIES.
DEFEND THE RIGHTS OF PUBLIC TENANTS.
Hi guys,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this wonderful article really!
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