Notwithstanding a welcome break over the Easter and Anzac Day long weekends, and the distraction of a federal election, things haven’t slowed down in the office as my team and I continue working hard to advocate for our community. With back-to-back sitting weeks approaching, my focus has been on speaking with people in Kurrajong about the action they want to see from the ACT Government.

Support for Businesses Impacted by Light Rail Works

Local business owners in Civic have been crying out for support to help them survive significant ongoing disruptions to their operations due to the construction of Light Rail Stage 2A. I’ve been directly contacted by several business owners who have been heavily impacted, reporting turnover decreases of 50 percent or more. That’s not sustainable, and these business owners are concerned that they won’t make it to the other side of the two-year road closures planned for London Circuit.

Last Thursday, I joined Senator David Pocock and Canberra Business Chamber CEO Greg Harford to stand with some of the local business owners who’ve been affected. We spoke to media near Odgers Lane to call on the ACT and Federal Governments to step in and provide meaningful support for these businesses.

We’re not talking about faceless corporations; we’re talking about locals who’ve poured years of their lives into setting up some of our favourite venues in Civic. Affected venues include Bar Rochford, Mezzalira, Molly, Highball, Amici, Parlour, Charcoal and Briscola. These icons are pivotal to our night-time economy and the cultural vibrancy of our city. We need to ensure they’re still here when the light rail works are finished. But so far, the ACT Government has only offered vague assurances about ongoing engagement. 

Senator Pocock and I chatted about the issue and he shared the same concerns. Given the project is 50:50 co-funded by the ACT and Commonwealth Governments, it made sense to come together in calling for:

1. Rates relief with a mechanism to ensure this support is passed onto tenants;
2. Rent assistance co-funded by the Commonwealth and ACT Governments; and
3. A special amnesty period from the ATO on any interest and penalties incurred during this period, and a supportive approach to payment plans when required. 

Having experienced the challenges of running a small business firsthand during my time as owner-operator of Praksis Movement Studio, including during the pandemic, I strongly believe that our government should be backing Canberrans who back themselves by starting their own businesses. In this case, that means providing genuine support for affected venues to ensure they survive to enjoy the benefits of the next stage of light rail. Put simply, I don’t think it’s fair to disrupt their operations in such a direct way without providing any kind of compensation. The ACT Government has since signalled that a support package of some sort is coming ‘soon’, which is encouraging.

Damning Audit of Public Housing Program

The ACT Auditor-General recently handed down another damning report on the ACT Government’s management of public housing. The audit investigated the ‘Growing and Renewing Public Housing Program’, whose purpose is to replace 1,000 older public housing dwellings with new ones while adding another 400 dwellings to our public housing stock. The program involves selling 700 public housing properties, buying 294 homes and building 1,106 new homes.

The headline finding of the audit was that, despite the program involving more than $850 million worth of capital works, Housing ACT didn’t undertake a probity risk assessment or develop a probity plan. It also found that information about tenants, including whether they had a disability, had not been adequately considered in deciding which public housing dwellings to sell.

The panel set up to make decisions about which properties would be sold:

1. Included directors from the area of Housing ACT responsible for asset management but didn’t include anyone from the Client Services Branch, which is the area responsible for the ‘tenant experience’;
2. ⁠Didn’t know how long tenants had been living in the homes they were selling;
3. ⁠Didn’t know if the homes contained any disability modifications; and
4. ⁠Didn’t consider the proximity of the homes to essential services. 

So, again, this is an instance of viewing housing primarily as an asset, and only secondarily as a home. The chronic underfunding of public housing in our city has placed Housing ACT in a position where they are forced to liquidate the only assets they have – public housing dwellings. The problem is that these are homes for members of our community. It’s clear that other factors are being prioritised over the human element when it comes to public housing, which just doesn’t make sense for a system whose purpose is supposed to be supporting the most vulnerable members of our community.  I’m hearing repeatedly from people in Kurrajong with concerns about public housing being sold in the inner suburbs and tenants being relocated to areas further away from essential services. We recently saw another perverse outcome stemming from this approach when a volunteer-cultivated community garden was sold off as part of a public housing property in Ainslie.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Investing heavily in social housing isn’t just an ethical decision; it’s also good economics. With ACT Shelter pointing to a KPMG report showing that every dollar invested in public housing generates $2.30 in economic activity and saves $2 in public expenditure elsewhere, there’s a strong case for increased direct government investment in public housing. And if existing public housing assets really do need to be liquidated, I hope the Government will take on board the Auditor-General’s feedback by putting tenants’ needs closer to the centre of that decision-making process.

This Friday, I’ll be at Kingston Shops outside Supabarn for a mobile office from 8.30am to 9.30am. Swing past if you’re keen for a chat, and please reach out any time via [email protected] or 6205 1475.

I’ll provide another update after the upcoming sitting fortnight.

In the meantime, remember to vote independent!