Roberts to seek national housing affordability agreement

State Housing and Works Minister Michelle Roberts will join her inter-state counterparts in pushing for the establishment of a National Housing Agreement, she announced today.

The full text of a ministerial announcement is pasted below

Western Australia, with the support of the other States and Territories, is seeking Federal Government agreement to a new six-point plan to tackle housing affordability.

Housing and Works Minister Michelle Roberts said the proposal, to be presented at the National Housing Conference in Darwin next week, outlined the major issues and presented achievable strategies to overcome them.

"The six-point plan addresses ways to secure the social housing sector, improve affordability for renters, improve access to home ownership and improve housing opportunities for indigenous people," Mrs Roberts said.

"I am looking for a co-operative approach to achieve affordable housing for low to moderate income Australians."

The conference is being held on July 4 and presents an opportunity to discuss housing affordability and the renegotiation of the Commonwealth State Housing Agreement (CSHA) that expires in July 2008.

The Minister said the forthcoming expiry of the CSHA provided an ideal chance to achieve a more comprehensive and systematic approach to housing policy and funding reform in the form of a National Affordable Housing Agreement.

"This conference will be the last opportunity for the Federal Government to show their commitment to addressing housing affordability before the Federal election," she said.

"The only way to achieve positive housing outcomes is through a National Affordable Housing Agreement."

The States and Territories will call on the Federal Government to meet its obligations to ensure affordable housing for all, especially those with lower incomes.

Mrs Roberts said all Housing Ministers would seek a commitment from the Federal Government to a six-point plan to:

• Secure the viability of the social housing sector, now and into the future - establish a National Housing Agreement to secure the viability of the social housing system, prevent further declines in stock and provide sustained investment for upgrading and replacing social housing;
• Increase the supply of social housing - establish a National Housing Agreement to re-introduce growth in the supply of government-subsidised rental housing;
• Improve housing affordability for private renters - reform Commonwealth Rent Assistance to improved targeting and encourage increases in the supply of affordable rental housing;
• Improve access to affordable home ownership - establish a nationally co-ordinated shared equity scheme, targeted at low to moderate income households seeking to access home purchase and improve targeting of the First Home Owners Grant;
• Increase the supply and distribution of affordable housing through new development and redevelopment projects - introduce planning instruments that allow State and Territories to support affordable housing; and
• Improve housing opportunities for indigenous people - provide additional funding to secure the viability of the indigenous-specific social housing sector, including growth in the supply of affordable rental housing for indigenous households.

The Minister said the State Government was committed to the reform and growth of social housing in WA and to affordable home ownership.

She said in the past three months, examples of the State's commitment to this included:

• $417 million commitment over four years (over and above matching agreements) announced in the State Budget on May 10, 2007 including:
  • $376 million to increase public and community housing numbers;
  • $35 million to support indigenous town-based communities; and
  • $5.7 million to expand WA's Bond Loan Assistance Scheme for households on low to moderate incomes seeking private rental accommodation.
• $900 million commitment announced in February 2007 to shared-equity homes loans (including $300 million in shared-equity homes purchases and approximately $600 million in State-financed low-deposit homes loans) over four financial years under the First Start homes loan scheme to help people on low to moderate incomes buy or build a home.

Mrs Roberts said the National Housing Conference was a good opportunity for all the States, Territories and Federal Government to work together to help provide quality public and affordable housing for those most in need.