Skip navigation

Adjournment: Public housing ombudsman

profile image
Samantha Ratnam
Leader of the Victorian Greens
2 June 2020

My adjournment matter tonight is for the Minister for Housing, and the action I seek is that the government establish a new office of the public housing ombudsman to hear complaints from public housing tenants about the quality and condition of their homes. Our public housing stock has been ignored and neglected for years. Instead of investing in new public housing or refurbishing and upgrading our existing units, the government has ignored public housing and effectively left units to rot. I have heard from the tenants who live in public housing that our ageing units are now suffering a myriad of issues. Tower blocks have no recycling facilities, lifts break down regularly and in some estates there are no lifts at all. In many estates there is a shortage of parking spaces. Laundry facilities are insufficient to meet need or are still waiting on repairs needed months ago. Bathrooms and kitchens are no longer fit for purpose. There is insufficient cooling, so residents are sweltering through our increasingly hot summers. There are issues of disability access, chronic mould issues, overcrowded living conditions and safety concerns—the list goes on.

For those tenants who do wish to complain about the conditions of their homes, the process is unclear and difficult to navigate. Many tenants face language barriers in accessing the complaints process set up by the Department of Health and Human Services, while others may not feel comfortable complaining directly to the department about a service the department itself provides. When they do complain it can take far too long for their issues to be resolved. I know of some public housing residents who have had to follow up with the department as many as 100 times and waited several years for maintenance issues to be addressed. Our public housing tenants deserve better from the department—their landlord—which is why they are mobilising to call for a public housing ombudsman and a charter of rights for residents.

We need an independent body to oversee our public housing sector, to handle issues and complaints from tenants and to monitor the government’s ability to look after our existing public housing stock. Our tenants are calling for a charter of rights to uphold their rights to a safe, secure and livable home. When we have 100 000 Victorians waiting for a public home we cannot afford to abandon our existing units and allow them to fall into disrepair. We cannot ignore the needs of our public housing tenants, who deserve a safe and modern place to call home. I echo the calls of our public housing tenants and ask the government to establish a new office of a public housing ombudsman and codify a charter of rights for our public housing tenants.

profile image
Samantha Ratnam
Leader of the Victorian Greens
2 June 2020
SHARE:

WHAT I'M FIGHTING FOR


In Parliament

PARLIAMENT

Members statement: Behrouz Boochani

In this Member Statement, Samantha Ratnam acknowledges the advocacy of Kurdish journalist and writer Behrouz Boochani. 

PARLIAMENT

2nd Reading: Raise the Age Bill

In the first week of Parliament for 2023, I second read the Greens' bill to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14.  

PARLIAMENT

Motion: Group voting tickets

That this house: (1) acknowledges that Victoria continues to be the only jurisdiction in Australia that uses the undemocratic group voting system to elect members to this place; (2) notes that after the 2021 Western Australian state election, where a representative from the Daylight Saving Party was elected with 98...

PARLIAMENT

Members statement: Climate Action

As we begin the work of the 60th Parliament I hope that the issues that impact our community the most are given the space and time to be aired and hopefully solved in this place. We owe it to all those who chose us to be their representatives, and we owe...