Category Archives: Media coverage

Media coverage of today’s announcement by Federal govt

Posted on by

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

Posted on by

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.

The loss of tenant advice services runs deep

Posted on by

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

* * * * * * Continue reading →

Getting rid of anti-social or introducing discrimination?

Posted on by

The Minister for Housing today discussed introducing a ‘three strikes and your out’ policy for public housing tenants.  Read the media article here.  Is this a good idea?

The  Minister’s comments, suggesting greater support for public housing tenants, are welcomed.  However, it’s hard not to be cynical about what the change might really mean in the face of cutting funds to every tenant advocate in the state, including those engaged in housing policy and law reform.  Who will be at the table to ensure the changes really are targeted at the ‘worst of the worst’ as the Minister says? And who will help tenants to defend claims they think are unreasonable? Continue reading →

No voice for community services sector?

Posted on by

David Crosbie, CEO Community Council of Australia, writes an interesting opinion piece in today’s Courier Mail about Not for Profit organisations lack of voice for.  Two notable quotes which ring true for the tenant advice sector:  

“The major concern is not so much the reduction in funding, but the lack of a clear rationale for what is cut and what is not”.  

“The ignorant cuts of governments seeking short-term savings are deplorable. The undermining of the NFP sector and its capacity to advocate is even more concerning”. 

To read the whole piece click here

 

 

 

Comments on ‘Life Matters’ piece

Posted on by

Following on from the piece on ABC Radio National’s Life Matters yesterday with the Queensland Housing Minister and the Tenants’ Union of Queensland’s Coordinator, there have been some interesting comments made on the website.  Like this one from LEO PR :

18 Sep 2012 4:26:52pm
Yes, and as more people rent, and rents go up, the money available for the RTA to invest and spend on the TAAS’s actually went up.

The RTA had a surplus of $10.8 million last financial year. That is, they had $580 million to invest, they achieved a 7.9% ROI (1.9% above what they had budgeted for), for a $45.9m income. They spent $35m, including $4.6m on the TAAS’s (including the TUQ’s 300k). Figures are rounded.

If they had wished, they could have doubled the funding to TAAS’s and still retained an operating surplus

To read more comments, make one or listen to the audio, go to this link.