Dr Wayne Mapp National Housing Spokesperson

15 September 2003

Govt must step outside the square with housing

The Government's narrow approach to state housing is encouraging a never-ending demand for state houses that it can't satisfy, says National Housing Spokesperson Dr Wayne Mapp.

"The Child Poverty Action Group report talks about a growing demand for state houses. What concerns me is the Government's blinkered approach to addressing that demand. "The Government thinks it needs to build hundreds more houses to meet demand. What it should be doing is selling some of the current state houses to existing long-term tenants, and using that capital to build more houses for those in need.

"In effect this means selling off some houses to give people in more need the opportunity to get on the housing escalator.

"This Government believes that it is the only one who can own and run state housing but that isn't the case. There is no reason why the Housing Corporation couldn't radically expand its leasing of houses from private owners to meet the demand.

"State housing should only be a temporary measure for those in real need to get people on their financial feet. It is not intended to be a life-long existence," Dr Mapp said.

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