Mr HENDERSON - 2000-08-10
The 2001 capital works program has a major capital works item of $21.4m for the construction of public housing, yet the cash allocation for this financial year is just $4.8m, less than a quarter of the program. Is this not another broken promise? The government promised $21m to the construction industry when it may be delivering less than $5m this year.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, unfortunately the member for Wanguri still can’t seem to come to grips with the programs that we are doing and does not really understand the way we are going about it. Over the last three years, there has been $163m injected into the building industry NT-wide through the Territory Housing budget. This includes construction in urban areas, construction on remote communities, repairs and maintenance and minor new works. In almost the last two years alone, $111m has been spent NT-wide on building repairs and maintenance through the Northern Territory budget. So there is this huge amount that we have already expended into public housing and the housing industry in the Northern Territory.
This year alone, and this has what the member can’t seem to realise …
Ms Martin interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mrs BRAHAM: Are you listening or not? Contracts worth $6m were let in June this year to construct 61 new dwellings in urban areas. This is what the Treasurer keeps trying to explain to you - that it happens over a financial year. It doesn’t happen all in one lump sum on 1 July of any financial year. $6m was let in June this year for 61 new dwellings, another $2.3m worth of construction of 21 dwellings was let this month and tenders have also been called for an additional $3.6m in construction, closing this year.
As well as that, $25m this year has been allocated to spend on repairs and maintenance and minor new works. What you do not seem to realise that there is a huge injection of funds into public housing. We have outlaid $47m over the last two years through HomeStart for the first-home buyer’s scheme and, as we announced the other day, for our new HomeStart loans we have $23m in this year’s budget.
I am not quite sure where you are getting your figures. You can see there is a continual stream of tenders being let for public housing. One complex in Coconut Grove is almost complete. It will be opened in September. It is through this government’s commitment to the building industry and to public housing that we are spending so much in the Territory. Just get your figures right.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, unfortunately the member for Wanguri still can’t seem to come to grips with the programs that we are doing and does not really understand the way we are going about it. Over the last three years, there has been $163m injected into the building industry NT-wide through the Territory Housing budget. This includes construction in urban areas, construction on remote communities, repairs and maintenance and minor new works. In almost the last two years alone, $111m has been spent NT-wide on building repairs and maintenance through the Northern Territory budget. So there is this huge amount that we have already expended into public housing and the housing industry in the Northern Territory.
This year alone, and this has what the member can’t seem to realise …
Ms Martin interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mrs BRAHAM: Are you listening or not? Contracts worth $6m were let in June this year to construct 61 new dwellings in urban areas. This is what the Treasurer keeps trying to explain to you - that it happens over a financial year. It doesn’t happen all in one lump sum on 1 July of any financial year. $6m was let in June this year for 61 new dwellings, another $2.3m worth of construction of 21 dwellings was let this month and tenders have also been called for an additional $3.6m in construction, closing this year.
As well as that, $25m this year has been allocated to spend on repairs and maintenance and minor new works. What you do not seem to realise that there is a huge injection of funds into public housing. We have outlaid $47m over the last two years through HomeStart for the first-home buyer’s scheme and, as we announced the other day, for our new HomeStart loans we have $23m in this year’s budget.
I am not quite sure where you are getting your figures. You can see there is a continual stream of tenders being let for public housing. One complex in Coconut Grove is almost complete. It will be opened in September. It is through this government’s commitment to the building industry and to public housing that we are spending so much in the Territory. Just get your figures right.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016