North Hobart pensioner Lorraine McGovern battles Tasmanian Government bureaucrats for accessible housing

For pensioner Lorraine McGovern, the ramps leading up to her North Hobart flat present an insurmountable obstacle to normal life. See why she’s had enough >

Shadow Minister for Housing Ella Haddad with Homes Tasmania client Lorraine McGovern and Labor Leader Rebecca White at North Hobart on Monday, May 1, 2023.

For pensioner Lorraine McGovern, the ramps leading up to her third-floor North Hobart flat present an insurmountable obstacle.

Since suffering from a stroke, the 74-year-old Homes Tasmania client says she has been virtually housebound and reliant on delivery services for her basic needs.

She has applied for a property with level access and space for a carer to stay but says her requests have failed.

“It has to be where I can get out of the car and straight into the front door because I’m going to need a wheelchair in the future,” she said on Monday.

“I have persistent chronic pain before I had the stroke and then that made it worse with me with my legs and everything.

Shadow Minister for Housing Ella Haddad with Housing Tasmania client Lorraine McGovern at North Hobart on Monday, May 1, 2023.

“Yesterday was the first time I went down to Woolworths since I had a stroke last July.”

Local MP Ella Haddad said people like Ms McGovern’s should have to battle bureaucrats for accessible housing.

“Lorraine has made this unit home for over 20 years, and she’s made it a comfortable home, she has been a model tenant but now because she’s had a number of strokes and her mobility is limited, she’s housebound.,” Ms Haddad said.

“She can’t get out of her house to go out into the community to do her own shopping and she relies very much on the support of others around her.

“She’s applied to the government for a transfer to another place, one where she can get around and isn’t housebound but they’ve told her there’s no way for them to tell her any indication of how long the wait is going to be.

“It’s really unfair that people in situations like Lorraine, who have done the right things as a model tenant for over two decades are treated this way and faces the prospect now of being in very uncertain housing situation, not being able to get out of her home and not being able to live safely in the community.:

Ms Haddad also said he state government had delivered only 314 homes out of the 1000 they needed to build this year to meet their 10,000 houses in ten years target.

Deputy Premier Michael Ferguson defended the government’s record on housing.

“We are building homes at a rate never before seen probably since the Second World War, post Reconstruction Era. It’s hard work,” he said.

“And we could do a better job with more support but we are already on track to build and deliver 1500 by the end of June of this year, or further 2000 by 2027.”