The Nationals Member for Gippsland South, Danny O’Brien has called on the Carroll Labor Government to urgently accelerate maintenance and renewal works on vacant public housing properties.
Speaking in Parliament this week, Mr O’Brien said too many government-owned homes were sitting vacant while Gippslanders struggled to find secure housing.
Figures provided by the Minister show there are currently 147 vacant public housing properties across the electorate of Gippsland South, including 40 waiting for capital upgrade works and another 11 earmarked for demolition or sale.
Mr O’Brien said it was deeply frustrating to see government-owned homes left empty because of unresolved maintenance issues while the housing crisis continues to worsen.
“I regularly hear from Gippslanders who cannot find a place to live, while government-owned houses sit empty because basic repairs haven’t been completed or maintenance work hasn’t been organised,” Mr O’Brien said.
“It is beyond frustrating that while many are sleeping rough, couch surfing or living in insecure accommodation, homes owned by the Government are boarded up and left vacant waiting for work to be carried out.
“The housing crisis is bad enough without the Government effectively taking homes out of circulation through neglect and delays.
“We are not talking about building brand new homes. We’re talking about getting existing houses repaired and occupied.”
Mr O’Brien said he was aware of a public housing property in Foster that remained vacant for more than 12 months before renovation works were finally completed.
“Locals could see the house sitting there empty month after month while people in the community were desperately searching for housing.
“That story is not unique. Time and again I hear of public housing properties sitting idle because the Government has failed to undertake relatively straightforward maintenance and upgrade works in a timely manner.”
Mr O’Brien said the issue reflected a broader failure by the Labor Government to keep up with basic maintenance.
“Gippslanders are rightly frustrated by the state of our roads and the growing pothole crisis because they can see what happens when governments stop maintaining essential assets.
“Unfortunately, we’re now seeing the same approach in public housing. Just as neglected road maintenance has left Gippslanders dodging potholes, neglected housing maintenance is leaving government homes empty or even earmarked for demolition, while people struggle to find somewhere to live.”
Mr O’Brien has called on the Carroll Labor Government to urgently clear the maintenance backlog and ensure vacant public housing properties are made available to those in need as quickly as possible.
“At a time of record housing demand, every available public housing property should be occupied, not boarded up and waiting for repairs while people are left without a home.”
Caption: The Nationals Member for Gippsland South, Danny O’Brien has called for the immediate acceleration of maintenance and renewal works on vacant public housing properties.
