Today, Independent Member for Kurrajong Thomas Emerson and Greens Member for Kurrajong, Rebecca Vassarotti will move a motion calling for a tranche of documents to shed light on decisions being made in housing.

The motion, which will be jointly moved by the two parliamentarians, will require the government to table a range of historical ministerial briefs, internal reports, and contractor operational data within the next thirty days.

In addition to the immediate disclosure of historical records, the motion mandates ongoing disclosure requirements, including every six months by 1 February and 1 August, for the remainder of the 11th Legislative Assembly.

This includes ongoing detail on the number of public housing dwellings, how long it takes to let a dwelling, maintenance timeframes, vacancy analysis and tracking of public housing properties which are deemed as “hard-to-let”. 

This ongoing tracking ensures scrutiny of how the Government is performing for public housing tenants and the people on the public housing waitlist.

Quotes attributable to Thomas Emerson, Independent Member for Kurrajong:

“Canberrans feel the human impact of the housing and homelessness crises on our community every day, and they want to see real action from their government.

“In the first half of 2026, our public housing waitlist grew by more than 150 people while the number of vacant public housing properties grew by more than 50. Over 3,650 approved public housing applicants are waiting for a home while almost 600 publicly owned homes sit vacant. Make that make sense.

“Canberrans see the empty homes in their suburbs, and are rightly asking why so many government-owned properties sit vacant when members of our community are sleeping rough and raising kids in cars. 

”The existence of a ‘hard to let’ public housing category in and of itself warrants explanation. What’s the long-term plan for these public assets, many of which have been left in disrepair?

“We need to ‘look under the hood’ to get a better understanding of why our public housing system is failing Canberrans so dismally, which is what this motion’s about.”

Quotes attributable to Rebecca Vassarotti, Greens Member for Kurrajong:

“In a time where the private market has fundamentally failed the next generation of Canberrans, we cannot keep relying on market-driven definitions of “affordable” to fix a broken system. Right now, we need an expanded vision of public housing that is truly affordable and unshackled from private profit.

“But how can Canberrans rally behind a vision of expanded public housing when past and present governments have set the bar so low? Decades of neglect have left us with high vacancies, endless waitlists, and crumbling, forgotten homes that leave very little to the imagination on what could be.

“In a place like Vienna, a city where private housing once ruled, sixty percent of residents live in beautifully managed, high-standard public housing because it is treated as the core business of the government for the sake of everyone.

“To reach this goal here in Canberra, we must fundamentally shift our approach to public housing. Empty units, frustrated tenants, and broken promises cannot remain the standard. Rebuilding our public housing system is everyone's responsibility, and the first step is fixing how we do things now.”

Quotes attributable to Gus Bamberry, who lives in a ‘hard to let’ public housing complex:

“ ‘Hard to let’ is a death knell upon a public housing complex. This is followed by decline, a preventable cycle of disadvantage and is a symbol that the ACT Government has genuinely failed people in our community.

“The ‘hard to let’ complexes are a hidden shame of the local government where we dump some of our most marginalised people with complex needs. They are deserving of the most help and yet are given very little, if any at all.

“The label ‘hard to let’ is a result of inaction and complacency and seen as an easy alternative to genuine support and compassion for the people who possibly need it most in our city.

“There are clear solutions to ensuring we can lift the label off these complexes and never use it again but in my years of tenancy and advocacy I’ve not seen any credible long term work towards this goal.”

BACKGROUND:

For more detail on the specific documents being asked for, you can find the Assembly motion here.