Tag Archives: qldpol

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 →

….now for the long term campaign

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Save Tenant Services – this has nothing to do with the campaign but we thought we’d have a Zen moment to celebrate this week’s big news and prepare for the next stage of the campaign to solve the long term TAAS funding issue with the State government! (p.s. thanks to the Gillard government for the life line)Zen moment

Hansard shows Parties urge state to accept $2.5M for TAAS

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On June 6 in parliament, members of both the Labor Party and Katter’s Australian Party raised the issue of funding for tenant advice services, urging the Newman government to accept the Commonwealth’s $2.5M funding offer.  Read the Hansard record here.

Opposition Leader and member for Inala, Ms Annastacia Palaszczuk (p. 2069 last paragraph), said:

We also call on the government to pick up the phone and accept the federal government’s offer to fund the Tenant Advice and Advocacy Service. The cutting of TAAS funds is more politics from a government that is more interested in pushing Tony Abbott’s barrow than securing real outcomes for Queenslanders.

Later, member for Dalrymple, Shane Knuth (p. 2104 third paragraph), said: Continue reading →

State rejects $2.5 million from the Federal Government to fund support services for tenants

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Reprinted from Courier Mail today.  You can read article directly their website here and make comments at the bottom.

The Queensland Tenant Advice and Advocacy Services (TAAS) which supports 500,000 renting households, will cease operation on June 30.

The Queensland Tenant Advice and Advocacy Services (TAAS) which supports 500,000 renting households, will cease operation on June 30.

TAAS was described as valuable but unaffordable, despite it being funded from tenant bond interest and not taxpayer dollars.

In hindsight, this decision seems a knee-jerk reaction by a new government looking to make easy savings but as well as being self-funded, the program works predominantly with people in private housing to keep them housed independently.

The work is frontline and local. All of these aspects seem to align with the LNP philosophy, the direction identified by Premier Campbell Newman last year and the Queensland Commission of Audit. Continue reading →

What’s changed for the State Government since last October 3?

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Why doesn’t the State Government sign off to take $2.5M from the Commonwealth to help out Queensland tenants battling away in the regions?
 
 Last year the State government was so keen to take money and keep the valuable TAAS program going.  At the time, the Minister said, “I’d be delighted to see the Federal Government put up the cash to fund this program and the state government would be more than happy to continue to administer it.”.   What’s changed?
Read the State government press release of last October 3 here.
 
 

Tenant Story #4

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A client had an appointment at our outreach service and presented to the appointment with her Notice of an Unresolved Dispute from the RTA.  She had until 5pm that afternoon to get her claim number in (which you get after you lodge an application in QCAT), otherwise her $1200 bond would be paid out to the other party, the agent.

The client was an elderly lady with numerous health problems and was distressed as she had lodged her QCAT application, Request for Attendance for Hearing by Remote Conference and Application for Waiver of Fees at the local court house, four days earlier and not heard a thing.

The property was in another area but this client was advised by the local courthouse that she could lodge the paperwork at this court house and they would forward it on.  She did not get a receipt as she had requested a waiver of fees. Continue reading →

Redundant Rocky TAAS worker shares some history

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On his last day, Rocky TAAS worker Craig sent us this potted history as he shut the doors for the last time. 14-2 two

In December 1988 the Queensland Housing Commission offered to make available to Community Organisations participating in Mortgage and Rent Relief schemes a one-off grant to employ a Housing Referral Worker.

The expected duties of the Worker were:

  • To assist people locate suitable accommodation in the private rental market;
  • To assist people obtain Commission bond guarantees, rent relief and long term accommodation;
  • To assist with tenancy law advice;
  • To assist those in crisis with practical support.

Our first Housing Referral Worker was Ron Leeks with the then auspicing organisation of Rockhampton Family Emergency Accommodation Programme (FEAP).

In July 1991 the Housing Referral Worker Programme became the Housing Resource Worker Programme with the newly formed Department of Housing and Local Government. When Ron moved on to greener pastures he was replaced with Keith Mansfield and around 1996-97 the programme auspice was transferred to CQ Consumers Association at the request of the SAAP service, FEAP.

I joined in 1998 as Keith’s relief worker and did my first block of training in tenancy law at the Tenants Union of Queensland offices in Teneriffe, and what trendy offices they were 

Over the years I’ve gone from relief work to part time work to full time, guess I always was a sucker for punishment. It is with great sadness that I have to oversee the closure of a service that has worked tirelessly for almost 25 years, I’ve had to bin and shred documents almost as old as I am.

From all the past workers who have championed the cause of a fair go for tenants in Central Queensland; Ron Leeks, Keith Mansfield, Margaret Whitton, Craig Jackson, Maureen Neal, Leonie Lane, Lyn & Alex Gartlan, Debbie Willebrand and Katelyn Clements; we say…

Fare thee well and good fortune smile upon your future endeavours, the axe is falling and we will cease to be in just over two hours at 12:30 pm local time.

(Editor’s note:  the service had to close a month early because Craig found a new job.  After 14 years he was made redundant but has no access or right to a redundancy payout.  It is a far cry from the Premier’s comments last year the all public service redundancies were voluntary and everyone got big payout.  Wrong on both counts in this case)