Mr AH KIT - 1998-10-08
The Housing Commission tenants have always believed that they had a permanent home provided they were good tenants. Now, that is not the case under your new regime. Public housing tenants are being made to sign a fixed term lease. I seek leave to table a copy of the new lease document.
Leave granted.
Mr AH KIT: It spells out how insecure their futures are, and I quote from it: ‘The landlord is not obliged to grant a further lease to the tenant’. Why are you undermining the security of the thousands of good Territory Housing Commission tenants?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his question. Territorians no doubt have been well acquainted with all of the new initiatives and strategies in public housing, and part of that strategy has been to try and enhance the level of home ownership within the Northern Territory. It has been the Australian dream that you own your own home. Equally here in the Territory that you also own your own home. So the Territory government has gone out and put in place a range of initiatives to encourage people to get into home ownership, including being a joint proprietor with the very people who are the tenants of government, to encourage them down that path.
We had become aware of that lease agreement and those particular words, and I can tell the member that the minister had already directed that the words be taken out. So we recognised ...
Ms Martin: It is on a clearly signed lease.
Mr STONE: Well, they are in the bit of paper you have. But the reality is that government was well ahead of you on this, the minister had already discussed this matter with his colleagues and the direction had been given. We thank you for bringing it to our attention again, but we have already dealt with it. It is now ancient history, the minister has dealt with it and those words have already been removed.
Mr Bailey: Was that before those people had signed those?
Mr STONE: Well, can I just, in response to the stupid interjection from John Bailey, the member for Wanguri, say we will go back to all of those tenants obviously ...
Ms MARTIN: Point of order, Madam Speaker! Naming of members by only their electorate and not by …
Madam SPEAKER: Yes, Chief Minister you really must remember not to do that. There is a point of order.
Leave granted.
Mr AH KIT: It spells out how insecure their futures are, and I quote from it: ‘The landlord is not obliged to grant a further lease to the tenant’. Why are you undermining the security of the thousands of good Territory Housing Commission tenants?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his question. Territorians no doubt have been well acquainted with all of the new initiatives and strategies in public housing, and part of that strategy has been to try and enhance the level of home ownership within the Northern Territory. It has been the Australian dream that you own your own home. Equally here in the Territory that you also own your own home. So the Territory government has gone out and put in place a range of initiatives to encourage people to get into home ownership, including being a joint proprietor with the very people who are the tenants of government, to encourage them down that path.
We had become aware of that lease agreement and those particular words, and I can tell the member that the minister had already directed that the words be taken out. So we recognised ...
Ms Martin: It is on a clearly signed lease.
Mr STONE: Well, they are in the bit of paper you have. But the reality is that government was well ahead of you on this, the minister had already discussed this matter with his colleagues and the direction had been given. We thank you for bringing it to our attention again, but we have already dealt with it. It is now ancient history, the minister has dealt with it and those words have already been removed.
Mr Bailey: Was that before those people had signed those?
Mr STONE: Well, can I just, in response to the stupid interjection from John Bailey, the member for Wanguri, say we will go back to all of those tenants obviously ...
Ms MARTIN: Point of order, Madam Speaker! Naming of members by only their electorate and not by …
Madam SPEAKER: Yes, Chief Minister you really must remember not to do that. There is a point of order.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016