Wednesday, 16 August 2023

Public housing

Gabrielle DE VIETRI (Richmond) (19:15): (297) In June an El Niño alert status was declared for Australia by the Bureau of Meteorology. At the global level we are on track for 2024 to be the hottest year on record. We may witness the very first year where average temperatures rise 1.5 degrees above average or even higher. We are talking extreme temperatures, droughts, bushfires and heatwaves – heatwaves that are more intense, longer and more frequent than they have ever been in recorded history.

We know heatwaves cause death and they disproportionately impact those on low incomes. Low-income communities are more likely to live in poorly constructed heat-affected accommodation like high-rise public housing. So my adjournment today is for the Minister for Housing. My electorate of Richmond is home to the largest public housing population of all of the Victorian electorates, with more than 10 per cent of our residents living in public housing. That is why it was a relief to hear in the lead-up to the election the Labor Party finally committing to installing air conditioning in Victoria’s public housing units. But almost a year later the residents in my electorate, who have been neglected by the state government for far too long, have still not had air conditioning installed and have not even received any communication about a future date when the air conditioning might be installed. During the summer their homes turn to ovens, reaching dangerously high temperatures. Some residents sleep in stairwells, in bathrooms or even outside, just to stay cool. Residents who can afford pedestal or table fans soak sheets in water, hang them over the fans and direct the fans to blow air over them.

Research shows clear evidence of the detrimental effect of prolonged heat exposure. Already one summer has passed since Labor’s promise, and another summer will be fast upon us. Residents in public housing are not second-class citizens. They need livable homes now and into the future. So the action I seek from the housing minister is to follow through on the government’s commitment to fast-track the installation of energy-efficient air conditioning units in public housing in Clifton Hill, Collingwood, Fitzroy, Abbotsford and Richmond before it is too late.