Tuesday, 15 August 2023

Harvest Square housing project

Anthony CIANFLONE (Pascoe Vale) (19:18): (290) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Housing. The action I seek is that the minister provide the latest update on the Victorian government’s Harvest Square Big Housing Build project, which is currently under construction in Brunswick West in my electorate. As I said in my first speech, I am committed to working every day to help make our community a better and fairer place to live, learn, work, raise a family and retire in. However, fundamental in striving towards this socially just vision for my community is to help ensure that people of all ages and backgrounds across Pascoe Vale, Coburg and Brunswick West have access to safe, secure and affordable housing. We know there is no more important issue anywhere in the state right now than housing. Whether they be first home buyers, families, young people, retirees or renters, or whether they be people experiencing housing stress or homelessness, every Victorian deserves a safe place to live, with access to housing being the very foundation for people to lead better lives.

In this respect I am proud to be part of an Andrews Labor government that continues to take real action when it comes to lifting and improving housing supply and standards through a number of initiatives, including: the $5.3 billion Big Housing Build program, which is delivering a pipeline of 12,000 new social and affordable homes, an uplift of at least 10 per cent in new social dwellings and 2400 new affordable homes; and the government’s previously introduced rental fairness package, which cracked down on rental bidding, improved property standards, helped tenants stay on longer leases and limited rental increases to once a year to give renters more financial stability.

In my community I am particularly proud of the landmark $86 million Harvest Square housing project in Brunswick West, which is being constructed as part of Labor’s Big Housing Build and which will deliver new homes for those who need them the most. Harvest Square is being delivered in partnership with Homes Victoria, AV Jennings and Women’s Housing Limited, and it will create a total number of 198 new, modern, sustainable and high-quality one-, two- and three-bedroom homes in the inner north. The development is to consist of 119 new social and community housing homes, and 111 of these homes will be new social housing apartments that will be Homes Victoria dwellings. Eight of these will be community housing homes that will be dwellings operated by Women’s Housing Limited, as well as 79 new market homes, with the provision made for 10 per cent of market homes to be released as first home buyers housing, while 5 per cent of the development will include provision for Disability Discrimination Act 1992 fully accessible homes.

The new Harvest Square is replacing the former Gronn Place, which consisted of 82 no longer fit-for-purpose dwellings, with 119 new world-class social housing homes – a 45 per cent increase in new homes on that site for social homes. Harvest Square will add much-needed new high-quality housing supply in Melbourne’s northern suburbs while creating a well-integrated community that is close to public transport, schools, retail precincts and jobs, with Harvest Square to create a new sustainable corridor through Brunswick West that will connect Albion Street through to Dunstan Reserve. The Harvest Square project is supporting a massive 770 jobs, with construction of Harvest Square social housing and the market apartment stage of the project having commenced in early 2022 and with the social housing stage on track to be completed by late 2024. The Brunswick West community would greatly appreciate the minister’s latest update so I can share it with my residents.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Before I call the minister, just in regard to the member for Narracan’s question, I understood that the question was to the Premier. I understood the action you were asking for. I am going to refer that to the Speaker for some guidance on whether it conforms to the standards of the adjournment debate. No doubt she will look at that in due course. I ask the Minister for Police to refer items to the appropriate ministers, including that question.