Public housing airconditioning: Victorian Government funding for some homes
Airconditioning will be installed in some public housing, but the Victorian Government has been urged to go further and fully end an “inhumane” policy.
Mildura
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Advocates in northwest Victoria have welcomed funding for new public housing and the installation of cooling in some existing houses.
But the Victorian Government, which stopped short of guaranteeing all houses in the northwest will be cooled, has been urged to roll out the upgrades as urgently as possible.
After the announcement $5.3 billion would be spent on 9300 new social housing homes, a further $112 million was set aside for energy efficiency upgrades in existing homes.
This included sealing windows and doors, upgrading heating and cooling and hot water in 35,000 properties.
Work will be done to identify properties most in need of upgrades, which will impact how many receive cooling.
The issue of airconditioning is prominent in northwest Victoria, where prolonged heatwaves are common in summer.
Guided by a policy introduced in 1997, the government isn’t obliged to provide cooling to public housing tenants, except for some medical reasons.
Mildura is forecast to hit 39 degrees on Thursday and days in the mid-40s are not uncommon.
During Mildura’s hottest month on record, in January last year, the mean daily maximum was 37.8 degrees.
A year earlier, a streak of 14 consecutive days of 35 degrees or warmer was recorded.
Last year, a study by Mallee Family Care and the University of Sydney looked at the impacts of this policy on tenants in Mildura.
It found a range of poor outcomes, including among fatigued schoolchildren, who were more likely to fall asleep in classrooms or be admitted to sick bay than their peers.
There was evidence of residents being knocked back when applying for a medical exemption.
While tenants did have the option of installing their own cooling, the study found this too required approval from housing authorities and that even when cooling units were left for the next tenant, authorities removed them.
Affordability was also a concern.
The study recommended an urgent review of the policy, which it said had been detrimental to residents’ physical, mental and social health and wellbeing.
In a statement on Wednesday, Mallee Family Care welcomed the “life changing” investment in new homes.
Responding to the cooling announcement, the organisation said there were early indications the government had listened to the community’s voices.
Mallee Family Care, which has campaigned for seven years to end the current policy, wanted the funding to be provided as an urgent priority.
“We look forward to further announcements by the Andrews’ Government, extending their notable investment in social infrastructure to ensure public housing in northwest Victoria is habitable and safe for all its tenants,” the statement said.
Member for Mildura Ali Cupper also welcomed the new home build, of which at least $40 million would be spent in the Mildura municipality.
Ms Cupper, who described the cooling policy as “inhumane” in state parliament this year, said the energy funding was a step in the right direction.
“Although it’s not going to mean standard aircon across all public housing properties by this summer … we will certainly have a very changed situation by next summer,” she told social media.
Ms Cupper hoped for a “new recognition” of what was needed to survive a Mallee summer in public housing.
Mallee Accommodation and Support Program chief executive Gary Simpson welcomed the government’s investment in new housing.
“We estimate this could potentially build 180 new properties across the Mallee, which could provide an extra 200,000 bed nights per year,” Mr Simpson said.
“That is a fabulous initiative to meet current supply and demand issues for people in need of public and social housing.”
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