Housing
Gabrielle DE VIETRI (Richmond) (14:34): My question is for the Premier. The Victorian Labor government has already displaced hundreds of residents from their public homes in Flemington and North Melbourne. The remaining residents are under extreme pressure to move out. The contract to demolish their homes has been signed and this government is champing at the bit to bring in the bulldozers, but the people of Victoria still do not know how much this project will cost. An independent expert report by OFFICE has costed an extensive refurbishment of the entire Flemington estate, including building more public housing, at about $500 million. Premier, how much will Labor’s demolition and construction plan cost at the Flemington and North Melbourne estates?
Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:35): In acknowledging the member for Richmond’s question, I have in previous answers to the member for Richmond canvassed the issue of how this government is getting on and building more homes. We are getting on with the largest urban renewal project in replacing the public housing towers because we want Victorians, particularly those Victorians who rely on the government to invest in them and to invest in a roof over their heads, to have modern homes and energy-efficient homes so their power bills are not as big a cost as they otherwise would be. That is about showing those Victorians dignity and respect, which they do not get from questions like this from the member for Richmond. What we are focused on in terms of costings and advice – and this is again something that has been made publicly available – is independent advice we have received from structural engineers about the towers and about what it would cost in terms of keeping them just in a habitable condition, remembering that these are not modern homes and not energy-efficient homes. It would cost billions to do that –
Gabrielle de Vietri: On a point of order on relevance, Speaker, I was not asking about the maintenance costs, which this government is notoriously stingy on, I was asking about the cost to demolish and build.
The SPEAKER: The Premier was being relevant to the question.
Jacinta ALLAN: I was responding directly to the member for Richmond’s claims around refurbishment costs with the advice I was referring to, which has been previously made publicly available. We do need to get on and build more homes. We do need to get on with replacing these public housing towers, and we will do so treating the residents with dignity and respect, not running around these communities with disgraceful misinformation designed to run a campaign of fear. We will treat public housing residents in our towers with respect, and I would love the member for Richmond to join us in that approach.
Members interjecting.
The SPEAKER: Minister for Finance, this is your last warning.
Gabrielle DE VIETRI (Richmond) (14:37): This is a major infrastructure project that is currently impending. It has life-changing impacts on tens of thousands of people, and the Premier seems to struggle to tell us how much it will cost. Not only are the government unable to provide any evidence to back up their decision in the first place, but they seem unable to produce any plans for what will be built in their place before they tear communities apart and destroy the buildings. With demolition impending in the next few months, Victorians have the right to know what it is supposed to cost. Is the Premier planning on writing a blank cheque to developers, or does the government actually have a budget for this project?
Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:38): Speaker, I was hoping for some guidance on where the question was in that supplementary, but I will do my best to bat on regardless. The member for Richmond in her contribution in the supplementary question littered it with falsehoods and fearmongering. That is not what public housing tenants in this state deserve. What they deserve are local members of Parliament and a government that are on their side, that are investing in their modern homes and that are investing in their future for them and their kids, and that is exactly what we will continue to do.