Minister Mander understanding of TAAS still misconceived – budget estimates

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New Qld Parliament 2012It seems like the State Housing Minister has plans to expand the role of the RTA.  Last Thursday State Housing Minister Mander was asked several questions at the budget estimates hearings. Expand they might, but the RTA will never be able to do the job the TAASs do – advise tenants.

The following extract from Hansard was a question from LNP representative for Nudgee, Mr Jason Woodforth to the Minister.

Mr WOODFORTH:”Minister, I refer to page 38 with regard to the provision of the tenant advisory services in Queensland. Can you advise how you are ensuring services are delivered in an economically efficient way? “

Mr MANDER:”Yes, and thank you for that question. It is important that we do provide good advisory services for tenants. We need to also make sure that we do it in the most cost-effective way and not duplicate any services. What I have been trying to do there is provide a more strategic approach to this. We have a number of services that we provide to help people stay in their tenancies. I have already mentioned today the Home Assist Secure program. I have mentioned also RentConnect. Currently we are reviewing the RTA and the services it provides. Continue reading →

Housing 2020 Strategy to renew social housing – State

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State Housing Minister Mander yesterday released a his 2020 Housing Strategy (see the media release below) which in part says the government will be looking to move people out, or through, social housing and into the private rental market.  But who will help to keep tenants more safely and securely housed in that market given the absense of an independent program of tenant advice in Queensland? Tenant advice services have only beeen able to remain open due to the Federal government’s second commitment of emergency funding.  However, that runs out at the end of the calendar year.

Media Release Thursday July 25
The Hon Tim Mander   Minister for Housing and Public Works

The Newman Government has announced sweeping reforms to the social housing system under what Housing Minister Tim Mander has described as the biggest shakeup in decades.

Mr Mander said the new Housing 2020 Strategy would establish a flexible, regionally based, integrated system that will deliver at least 12,000 additional social and affordable housing dwellings and see at least 90 per cent of all social housing managed by community housing providers by 2020.
“This Strategy is about bringing Queensland’s social housing system into the 21st Century,” he said. Continue reading →

Queensland Premier should restore tenancy services funding – Feds

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Media Release 25 July 2013
THE HON JULIE COLLINS MP
Federal Minister for Housing and Homelessness

A year after the Queensland Government cut funding to the state’s Tenancy Advice and Advocacy Services (TAAS), the Federal Minister for Housing and Homelessness Julie Collins has called on State Premier Campbell Newman to restore funding as part of his commitment to tackle homelessness under the transitional National Partnership on Homelessness.

In July 2012 when the Newman Government announced it would no longer fund the tenancy services, the Australian Government stepped in with $3.3 million to allow TAAS to continue operating. In June, the Government provided an additional $2.5 million to fund TAAS for a further six months.

Minister Collins said the injection of emergency funding had kept the organisation’s doors open and helped around 80,000 people.

“The most effective way to reduce homelessness is to prevent people becoming homeless in the first place, and services like these are critical to keep vulnerable people falling into the cycle of homelessness. Continue reading →

Tenant Advice Services still open for business in Qld!

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Amazingly most services have managed to survive. It is truly a credit to their resilience and commitment to the work they do.

“Amazingly most services have managed to survive. It is truly a credit to their resilience and commitment to the work they do”.

It was twelve months’ ago yesterday that 23 services then funded through the Tenant Advice and Advocacy Services (TAAS) Program received an unexpected fax informing them that the funding program would be completely discontinued.  The funding was being withdrawn despite the lion’s share of it coming from the interest generated on tenants’ own bonds.  The fax provided three months’ notice of funding withdrawal, ending their contracts almost two years early.

Today we wanted to pay homage to resilience of these services and acknowledge their commitment (their workers and committees) to continuing to deliver services to tenants in their communities.

The last year has been an exceptionally difficult time for the TAAS services.  As many of you will know, after a huge outpouring of support for the services and a campaign to raise people’s awareness of the changes, the Commonwealth government announced on October 3 – three weeks before the end of the State funding – that services would be provided with one-off funding from 1 November to 30 June.

These funding arrangements were hurriedly put in place – the State agreed to administer them for the Commonwealth – as services turned around their closure plans and continued on.  The services were in the odd situation of having to wrap up and finalise the funding originating from the State under one contract and sign up new contracts with the same area of government in order to deliver the same, albeit a slightly reduced level of, services.

In the meantime they kept providing those services and supporting tenants in their communities.

The next few months were still followed by the lack of long term security for the services.  Tenants and supporters across the state contacted the State government seeking a review of the decision and thousands of letters and postcards were received by government on the issue.  In the meantime, negotiations between the Commonwealth and State governments on the National Partnership on Homelessness (NPAH) were underway, under which the Commonwealth sought to bind the State to funding tenant advice and advocacy services. Continue reading →

Are tenants people……..?

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This is a long, well written piece (see link below) not directly about tenants or tenants’ rights. It’s a piece about a mine encroaching on a small town and a legal case to stop it coming closer.

However, during the court case, proponents argued that the town would not be gutted by the mine having to buy up the houses in the noise zone because they could tenant the properties. To quote the article,

“The judge began pressing an uncomfortable point; why was it acceptable for mine-worker tenants to be put into houses deemed too exposed to noise for their original owners to live in?”

If you want to go straight to the section on tenants, see Chapter 4, starting the 7th paragraph. There is a very interesting interchange between the Judge and the Government Barrister. The interchange touches on an issue that many tenants and their supporters will be familiar with – the trade off many households are forced to make between maintaining affordable rent costs and accepting conditions which do not meet community standards. The last paragraph in this section quoting the Judge is well worth reading!   Read the article from the Global Mail here.

Senator Nick Xenophon joins Brighton Caravan Park tenants’ fight against Holdfast Bay Council

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News from Holdfast Bay, South Australia and reprinted from news.com.au – we think this might be a story to watch!  Read directly from here.

Holdfast Bay SASen Xenophon also plans to arrange for one of Australia’s leading voices on social justice, Tim Costello, to headline a public meeting later this month to help raise money for a residents’ fighting fund.

“I’ve retained the services of a legal counsel to give advice to the residents,” Sen Xenophon told the Guardian Messenger.

“A legal team is being assembled to represent the residents, with a view to have legal proceedings issued on their behalf against the council.”

He said he had been advised by a barrister that the residents could pursue a civil action in the District Court.Senator Xenophon said residents had produced evidence that led them to believe permanent tenants would always be accommodated at the park despite them signing yearly leases. Those representations encouraged tenants to invest their entire savings, in some cases up to $120,000, to purchase homes at the park and make improvements, he said.

The council is planning a $3 million revamp of the seafront park, adding up to 20 cabins, 12 eco-style tents, a leisure area and an upgraded kiosk. The redevelopment plan includes new up-market cabins on the site where the residents live. Continue reading →

Government aims to halve homelessness by 2020

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Media Release June 27 Minister for Housing and Public Works The Hon Tim Mander

New crisis accommodation and an overhaul of the intake system are among the initiatives of a Newman Government commitment to halving homelessness in Queensland by 2020.

Housing Minister Tim Mander said in addition to delivering ‘bricks and mortar’ initiatives, the plan would reform service delivery to address the root causes of homelessness and give vulnerable Queenslanders the necessary skills to ensure they don’t slip backwards.

“On any given night, at least 20,000 Queenslanders are homeless including more than 1500 ‘sleeping rough’ mostly in regional parts of the State,” Mr Mander said.

“In a great state like Queensland, that’s completely unacceptable.”

Mr Mander said new supported accommodation facilities would be targeted at key locations and would include a 40 bed facility in Townsville, a 20 bed facility in Redcliffe and a 40 bed facility in Cairns as part of the first stage.

“Additional dwellings will also be provided to expand the Street to Home program so it can continue its outreach model of linked accommodation and support and be able to respond quickly to the need for short-term accommodation.

“We’ll also develop and complete 10 joint ventures to deliver new housing and support initiatives, with the government contributing the land and the non-government sector providing the capital and support services.”

Mr Mander said while the ‘bricks and mortar’ projects were important, they were only part of the solution.

“As well as building more accommodation, we also have to change the way we do business to make sure we’re building resilience, not just reliance.” Continue reading →

Federal Govt rescues TAAS

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FEDERAL funding to ensure Tenancy Advice and Advocacy Services (TAAS) continued in the region was won by the Mount Isa Community Development Association (MICDA) this week, despite the state refusing similar funding to carry out the work.

MICDA manager Alison Bohannan said her staff would be briefed by the Tenancy Union of Queensland (TUQ) tomorrow on how staff should deliver their advocacy and advice services under their management.

“The Australian government has now offered funding to provide those services through the Tenants Union of Queensland instead of the state government,” she said.

“We can still provide court support, education and awareness but we need to find out where we stand on providing advice.” Continue reading →

NSW public housing tenants to be hit with spare bed tax

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Reprinted from the ABC news website 26-6-13

New South Wales public housing tenants with extra bedrooms will soon be penalised with a weekly tax if they refuse to move into smaller accommodation.

From September, around 17,000 people living in public houses with extra bedrooms will be slugged with a spare bed tax if they refuse to move into smaller properties.

Singles will be charged an extra $20 per week and couples an extra $30 per week.

Community Services Minister Pru Goward says the tax will create a fairer public housing system by freeing up larger houses for families.

“If there is no suitable smaller accommodation, they don’t have to move and they don’t have to pay the charge, so it’s fair to our existing tenants,” she said.

“We have tens of thousands of families on the public housing waiting list with nowhere to live, people living in the backs of their cars with their kids, we need to get those people into public housing.”

It follows a similar policy adopted in the United Kingdom in April where public housing tenants have their benefits incrementally cut for each spare bedroom.

Letter to the editor – Wynnum Herald

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This letter, written by a happy TAAS client, was printed in last Wednesday’s Wynnum Herald. TAAS will now continue operating for a further six months through the largess of the Commonwealth government.  Funding will be channelled through the Tenants’ Union of Queensland who will sub-contract local TAAS providers.  Let’s hope the long term funding issue is resolved with the State over the coming few months.

Wynnum Herald 1

Wynnum Herald 2

Kevin Rudd MP in Federation Chamber discusses homelessness and TAAS

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From Hansard Federation Chamber
CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS – St Vincent de Paul CEO Sleepout
Thursday, 20 June 2013 Page: 81 (see last paragraph re TAAS)

Mr RUDD (Griffith) (09:40): The member for Hinkler has just informed me he will rise to speak in a minute on the passing of Mr Bernie Johnson from his electorate. In anticipation of the remarks that he will make, I would like to extend my bipartisan support for his commendation of a person who was a great Indigenous leader from the city of Bundaberg. Sadly, he passed away in the last week. Through the honourable member and through the parliament, I extend my condolences to his family and to the community.

I am speaking in the chamber this morning on the question of homelessness. This is a continuing challenge for all Australians. According to the census data, we have more than 105,000 Australians who are homeless and 44,000 are young people. Across Queensland, there are more than 19,000 people sleeping rough tonight. Of those, 8,000 are under the age of 25, 5,000 are homeless as a result of domestic violence and 750 are without a place to call home as a result of mental health challenges.

Tonight I am sleeping in the CEO Sleepout, organised by St Vincent de Paul. This is the third St Vinnie’s Sleepout that I have participated in. I will be joining hundreds of CEOs, both in Brisbane and around Australia, to raise funds for St Vincent de Paul. Last year we did so and raised $5.3 million across the country. Continue reading →