A suite of emotions engulfed me as I read the state Department of Housing fax last July advising that Minister Flegg would no longer approve funding for the TAASQ program. Anger was certainly prominent but confusion, frustration and melancholy were also present. Similar emotions returned when a second letter arrived last week from the Director-General of the Department of Housing confirming that funding would not continue after the federal government’s emergency funding ends on of 30 June 2013.
Anger emerged because of the callous and non-consultative manner in which these decisions had been made. ‘How dare some know-it-all cabinet ministers make decisions that will have an ongoing and devastating impact on the vulnerable without consultation’, I thought to myself. Is this how executive government operates in the 21st century? No meaningful research conducted and certainly no consultation convened to test the validity of the decision. Not necessary as our elected masters know best.
Confusion quickly followed. What does it all mean for the TAASQ program? What role is expected of me to implement this decision? Where to from here? I had recently moved from one TAAS service to another with a mandate to make this new service more efficient and effective for the clients. I was confident that recent changes to the service would bring about that result. Now I was expected to undo all that positive innervation and literally shut up shop. Where does one start and how does one go about legally winding up an incorporated entity of more than twenty years standing? Frustration quickly emerged from the confusion.
However the most devastating and lingering emotion was melancholy. I was sad not for myself but for the fate of the tenants and residents who were now going to be left to their own devises to protect and advance their rights. I instinctively knew how difficult this would be given my experience as a TAAS worker over the past decade. I understood how vulnerable these people could be when faced with defending their position against lessors, agents and caravan park managers etc. The power imbalance that already existed had just been massively widened by removing the only support mechanism available to theses people.
The statements of justification released by the ministers clearly confirmed that they had little or no understanding of the potential magnitude of the impact of their decisions. Further by comparing the unique TAASQ service to other bodies such as the RTA, the ministers only confirmed that they lacked understanding of the real operational value of the TAASQ program.
Finally I was sad because I knew that the social need that has been underpinning the TAASQ program for all these years will continue. The proposed alternatives are not appropriate and will not be effective. What a waste of human and financial capital to dismantle such a valuable and effective service only to realise a little further down the track that a mistake has ben made. I do lament the stupidity of these decisions.
Amen to this! This decision is like a tick time-bomb that will go off and blast the state government in the future with increased homelessness and will end up costing the tax payers millions and millions of dollars. This decision is wrong! We all know it’s wrong but we cannot get that through to the government. They will have to learn it the hard way. You cannot reason with people who have no compassion nor logical responses to questions.
I too am confused and angry. I was around in the sector when TAAS was born – Housing Referral Workers was first, then Housing Resource Workers (I was both) then TAAS. Basically the same work only more focused on tenants rights in the last transformation. Where will the vulnerable go – those who are illiterate, aged, from a non-English speaking background, the defeated, the broken. Who will get alongside them now and guide them through the processes. Who will help them stand up to the bully lessors and demand their rights. A voice on the end of the RTA phone line who can only sit on the fence.?? It disgusts me that the vulnerable have, once again, been stomped over. Let’s hope they listen to reason and change the decisions. Pigs do fly if you put them on a plane…..
Davina, can we post this to our facebook site please?
Davina – like you I have watched all the iterations from the old HRW days when the National Party saw the need to fund tenant support services. It is distressing to see the way this Govt is prepared to defend its decision by belittling the work of TAASQ workers and accusing them of duplicating the work of the RTA. They clearly have not thought through the implications and are not prepared to admit that they have made a mistake or have created new problems. We have to keep raising our voices and not give in.
Perhaps tenants with a problem should be advised to report to the waiting room of their local LNP State Govt MP. Having jettisoned the tenants union and similar services, MPs can hardly object to pitching in to assist tenants who have been left without an advocate. Perhaps a ring around survey of MPs offices might reveal which MPs will be prepared to help personally for the forseeable future given the circumstances they are creating for tenants. How much time are they willing to devote to helping constituents in their electorates with tenancy issues? I suggest this be widely promoted. I hope these MPs are ready and willing to brush up on tenancy law and roll up their sleeves for some truly important work assisting the community.
Hi Helen, actually last year the Premier said this is the place where tenants could go for help – to their local MP.