Tasmanian Labor is being disingenuous by inaccurately describing Homes Tasmania as not accountable to Government, while at the same time offering no alternative to the housing challenges facing Tasmania.
The Homes Tasmania Bill creates an authority with a dedicated focus on housing and homelessness services. It remains a government body with complete accountability to the responsible Minister and Executive Government.
All staff within Homes Tasmania will remain public servants, as they currently are, and Homes Tasmania will have a guiding policy document in the form of a Ministerial Statement of Expectations which is transparent, in addition to its Corporate Plan and Annual Report tabled in Parliament each year.
This level of transparency and accountability is in addition to that of a government department, while still being subject to Right to Information and Budget Estimates scrutiny.
What Tasmanian Labor is ignoring is the Authority’s unquestionable focus on Tasmanians and their housing needs. It puts housing as a basic human need at its core.
This Authority will be tasked with delivering on the Government’s promise to deliver 10,000 homes between now and 2032. Put simply, its sole task will be on ensuring Tasmanians have safe and secure shelter, while we build more homes.
Tasmania must adapt and collaborate more if we are to achieve this.
Other jurisdictions have long recognised sector collaboration is critical to delivering improved housing outcomes and have brought in their expertise in Boards. Homes Tasmania will follow their lead in co-designing our way forward.
Ms Haddad has conveniently ignored a complete skill-set on the Board of ‘housing and homelessness expertise’ and wrongly focused solely on the commercial skills to suit her argument.
If Labor truly cared about providing homes for our vulnerable, they would get behind this change that has the broad support of our housing and homelessness sector.
I call on Labor to stop playing politics on such a critical issue and start supporting change for those who need it most.
