Author Archives: Lead Organiser

You helped Save Tenant Services – thank you!

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You helped Save Tenant Services. Thank you.

Whilst we still have a long way to go to secure the long term future of the 22 local tenant advice services and the Tenants’ Union of Queensland, this week we had a significant win with the Federal government offering emergency funding to assist us until the end of June 2013.

And we want to stop for a moment and say thank you .This significant achievement would not have happened without each and every one of you.  Whatever you have done, little or big, your efforts have helped us to get here.  We’re going to be asking you to help us again in the near future but today is the day to say thank you, thank you, thank you.  Your contribution has been vital in helping us along our way.

And then there were Ipswich celebrations….

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Media Release, Wednesday, 3rd October 2012
SAVING THE TENANT ADVICE AND ADVOCACY SERVICE

The Federal Member for Blair, Shayne Neumann today announced the Federal Labor Government will provide $3.3 million in emergency funding for the Queensland Tenant Advice and Advocacy Service (TAAS), a service scrapped by the Newman Government.

The TAAS offers essential advice and advocacy services to tenants across Queensland, including Ipswich and the Somerset Region, providing assistance to 80,000 households annually.

On July 24, all 23 services funded through the TAAS were sent notice of withdrawal of funding by the Newman Government, effective 31 October.

“Advocacy and advice services like TAAS help keep Queenslanders in their homes and are critical to preventing homelessness,” Mr Neumann said.

“The axing of this important service was just another example of the Newman Government slashing jobs and services at every opportunity with no thought for people affected or the long-term repercussions.”

Mr Neumann said the Ipswich TAAS program run by the Ipswich Regional Advocacy Service Inc (IRASI) has provided support and assistance to people through the Ipswich and Somerset Regions for many years.

“Without IRASI, people who are disabled, people with educational and life challenges could be taken advantage of. Continue reading →

Media coverage of today’s announcement by Federal govt

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There’s been lots of media coverage of today’s announcement by the Federal Housing Minister that $3.3M dollars of emergency funding will be provided to Tenant Advice and Advocacy Services in Queensland.

This money will take services through until June 2013, all 23 which included the Tenants’ Union of Queensland,  It is hoped that by then the Queensland government will return tenant bond interest to services for tenants rather than redirect it to other uses.  See some of the coverage below:

The Brisbane Times:  read here
ninemsn:  read here
The Courier Mail onine:  read here
The Gladstone Observer:  read here
The Westender:  read here

Emergency funding for tenant advice – doorstop with Minister O’Connor

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This doorstop interview makes for great reading.  Federal Minister for Housing, Brendan O’Connor, gave the interview today after making the announcement that $3.3M will be provided to tenant advice and advocacy services which have had funding pulled by the Queensland Housing Minister.

The question still remains whether the Queensland government will return tenant bond interest to them in the coming months via the funding of the tenant advice services.  Read the interview here.

Gillard government rescues tenant advice services with emergency funding

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As many of you will have now heard, the Gillard government, through Federal Housing Minister Brendan O’Connor, has announced $3.3M in interim, emergency funding for the 23 de-funded Tenant Advice and Advocacy Services.  Read Minister O’Connor’s.announcement here.

These monies will proportionally fund each service between October and June 2013.

This decision by the Federal government is a life line to Queensland tenants who would otherwise be left without access to any free specialised tenant advice services from the end of this month. The Save Tenant Services group wishes to thank the Federal Minister and government for their support.

This does not mean, however, that our campaign is over.  We still need to pressure the state government to stop using tenant bond interest for other purposes over advice and advocacy for all Queensland tenants.

Last year $5M was provided by the Residential Tenancies Authority to the Department of Housing for the TAAS program.  This year, the Queensland Housing Minister, after deciding not to fund TAAS services, then required $7M to be provided for social housing.  All from tenant bond interest.

Queensland tenants are the big winner today, but now the Queensland government needs to step up to the mark, stop taxing tenants of their bond interest and divert those $7M back into services designed and specifically for all Queensland tenants.

For helping get us to this point, we want to thank you all – Queensland tenants and the TAAS services themselves, support services in local communities who have so passionately supported the TAASs, state, national agencies, the Australian Services Union, the Opposition parties.  At risk of missing significant supporters, we want to thank QAILS and NACLC and Community Law Australia.  There are so many organisations and individuals that have helped.  Please stay tuned, we still need your help.

Send your notice to remedy breach to the Housing Minister today!

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In celebration of International Tenants’ Day, we need your help again today, Tuesday October 2.  Send a Notice to Remedy Breach to Housing Minister Bruce Flegg, asking him to remedy his breach and reinstate funding for free, universally accessible tenant advice services.  At the Save Tenant Services headquarters, we’re about to send ours off!

For those of you who don’t know how these tenancy forms work, you have to tell the other person what their breach is and ask them to rectify it by a specified date.  On October 2, you can describe the breach in your own words or use one of our suggestions, then ask the Minister to rectify the problem by October 31, the date on which the Tenant Advice and Advocacy Service funding will be discontinued.   

How to help step by step:

  1. Fill in a Form 11 Notice to Remedy Breach – (you can make up your own or use samples).  Use the NTRB filled in or fill in the empty  NTRB here.
  2. Today, October 2, email or fax this notice to the HOUSING MINISTER to  [email protected] or (Fax) 07 3012 9017  or send it by Australia Post to GPO Box 2457 BRISBANE   QLD 4001
  3. Tell your friends, family and colleagues to join the action.

If you would like to learn more about International Tenants’ Day 2012 please read this link.  Or visit the IUT’s website at http://www.iut.nu/ 

On August 28, the Day of Action, we sent messages and made phone calls to the Minister.  We delivered postcards to the Premier.  The government needs another reminder, send a Notice to Remedy Breach today, October 2.

PS International Tenants’ Day is actually on the first Monday of October, which is the 1st this year, but because it’s a holiday, we’re sending the notice to remedy to reach the Minister on Tuesday October the second.

Happy International Tenants’ Day 2012!!

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International Union of Tenants

For all you tenants and tenant supporters, Happy International Tenants’ Day (ITD)!!  Celebrated annually on the first Monday in October and coinciding with the UN World Habitat Day, this year’s theme is rental housing, why we like it!

So sit back and read here hereabout why the European based International Union of Tenants thinks that rental housing is so good. .There’s more information on the International Union of Tenants website as www.iut.nu

For those of you helping us celebrate ITD by sending a Notice to Remedy Breach to the Queensland Housing Minister, remember we’re not doing this until tomorrow, Tuesday October 2 due to the public holiday (read our previous post).

The loss of tenant advice services runs deep

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Following on from the release of the Coroner’s report about the tragic death of a baby at a rental property in Yeppoon (read here for coverage of the issue), two letters to the Courier Mail editor highlighted outstanding concerns.

Closures could set the scene for more tenant tragedies

WHEN will Queensland renters be protected from poorly maintained and unsafe rental properties? The lack of enforceable standards in rental properties has led to the tragic death of a baby girl (C-M, Sep 20).

Her parents paid the ultimate price for Queensland’s inadequate tenancy laws. As the coroner hands down her decision, who will act as a watchdog to improve rental standards and ensure the Government implements the coroner’s recommendations?

The Tenants Union and 22 other tenancy advice services have been cut by the Government. Without these services, tenants will struggle to deal with repair issues and a tragedy like this could happen again.

Wendy Herman, Fortitude Valley

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