Housing Minister Roger Jaensch makes case for debt forgiveness

A forum to tackle homelessness has generated plenty ideas but there’s no immediate relief in sight.

Housing Minister Roger Jaensch in his office. Picture: RICHARD JUPE

UPDATED: Hobart Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds says today’s tri-partisan homelessness crisis meeting was a fantastic discussion but there were no immediate solutions agreed on that could be implemented to help get people off the streets.

Cr Reynolds said the forum sent a strong message to Federal Housing Minister Michael Sukkar that the current crisis was a big issue for the greater Hobart community.

“There was a lot of discussion and questions — we’ve put everything on the whiteboard. We really need to now sort through those ideas and work out who are the best people to take those next steps,” Cr Reynolds said.

When asked if there was anything that could be rolled out from today, Cr Reynolds said they had identified a whole range of things they could do.

WATCH THE HCC FORUM VIDEO HERE

WATCH FEDERAL HOUSING MINISTER MICHAEL SUKKAR

READ THE EDITORIAL: BETTER USE FOR DEBT PAYMENT

“I guess today what we agreed to was that as mayors we’re going to form an alliance with the other peak bodies and we’ll be certainly working together, but as far as today a particular place being opened or a shelter being expanded, nothing particular today, no,” she said.

“Within a couple of hours it’s tricky to get solutions to everything.

“What we’ve done is we’ve identified a whole range of things that we can do. We’ve got to work out which organisations have the capacity to do them and whether councils can do some of those things.”

State Housing Minister Roger Jaensch said the Government was focused on moving prefabricated accommodation units in available space next to existing shelters to help expand capacity.

He said that would be implemented within weeks.

“We’re working on some new planning provisions that might be able to allow us to do this quickly with a temporary permit for these temporary structures,” Mr Jaensch said.

A group of developers, who penned an open letter when left off the invitation list for the homelessness forum, says unless we act to provide medium-term supply increases, then we are going to have the same immediate crisis every winter.

EARLIER: HOBART City Council’s homelessness crisis forum has opened, with key stakeholders — including the state and federal housing ministers — meeting to try to come up with some immediate solutions.

Hobart Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds is expected to give an update after the meeting, which readers can follow live on the Mercury’s Facebook page from about 10.40am today.

It comes after a group of developers penned an open letter to Councillor Reynolds when they weren’t invited to the council’s homelessness crisis meeting.

The letter, signed by eight firms, including Quinten Villanueva from Qapital Investments, Tony Collidge from PRD Nationwide Hobart and Sam and Peter Chedid from Kunama Property Group, said they stood ready to help tackle the issue.

“The term ‘developer’ is not a dirty word. The fact is without developers there would be very few new houses built at all,” it read.

“We believe that the major cause of the housing crisis is that supply is not keeping up with demand.

“We acknowledge that building new houses and apartments takes time — approximately two years from start to finish — and that approving more supply tomorrow won’t address the short-term issues.

“However … unless we act to provide medium-term supply increases, then we are going to have the same immediate crisis every winter.”

The letter, also signed by Tasmanian Hospitality Association CEO Steve Old and Master Builders Tasmania executive director Matthew Pollock, called on the council to ensure any response included prioritising increasing medium-term supply and short-term solutions.

It is understood Tasmanian Property Council of Australia executive director Brian Wightman will attend the forum.

An HCC spokesman said all submissions would be considered at the meeting.

EARLIER: HOUSING Minister Roger Jaensch says his top priority is to have his federal counterpart commit to finally wiping Tasmania’s historic housing debt.

Mr Jaensch will on Thursday morning sit down with Federal Housing Minister Michael Sukkar to make his case to have the Commonwealth retire the $157 million debt.

The debt — racked up between the 1950s and 1980s when Tasmania borrowed from the Federal Government to boost its social housing supply — eats up about half the annual federal housing grant the state receives every year.

Federal Housing Minister Michael Sukkar.

Mr Jaensch said the $15 million lost annually to debt repayment was equal to having about 50 new Housing Tasmania properties built each year.

The Braddon Liberal MHA discussed the debt with Mr Sukkar over the phone at the weekend and will restate his case on Thursday.

“We’ve kept on restating our strong preference, our top priority, being retiring this debt so we can direct more Tasmanian dollars to building more houses,” Mr Jaensch told the Mercury.

“We should be spending our money on houses for Tasmanians, not payments to Canberra.

“They’re not telling us to go away, the Minister’s listening, and I think he’s really keen to help.”

FUNDING AGREED FOR HOUSING SOLUTIONS

Shelter Tasmania has long pushed for the Commonwealth to retire Tasmania’s housing debt, and on Wednesday again urged action from the Federal Government.

Executive officer Pattie Chugg said: “Shelter Tas, on behalf of the housing and homelessness sector and all Tasmanians, repeats its call for the state and federal housing ministers to work together to remove the historic housing debt burden from Housing Tasmania to free up much-needed resources for affordable homes for those in need.

Shelter Tasmania executive officer Pattie Chugg.

“We hope to hear a positive announcement from Minister Sukkar.”

Tasmanian Council of Social Service chief executive Kym Goodes echoed Ms Chugg’s plea.

“With the Federal Housing Minister in Hobart [today], the focus needs to turn to longer-term solutions that will be enabled if the housing debt can be addressed,” she said.

Mr Sukkar was contacted for comment yesterday afternoon.

Tasmanian Liberal senator Eric Abetz said earlier this week that forgiving Tasmania’s debt would be akin to “rewarding bad behaviour”, dampening hopes of good news from the Coalition.

HOUSING DEBT SHOULD NOT BE FORGIVEN

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Mr Jaensch said Senator Abetz’s comments had made him angry.

“It’s been our state’s stated position for a long time that we want this debt retired, and we’re in a period of real pressure,” Mr Jaensch said.

“Every bit will count towards that. If we can stop spending Tasmanian money on Commonwealth debt and spend it instead on houses for Tasmanians, that’s what we should be doing.”