CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS

Ms COLLINS (Franklin—Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) (10:43): I rise to raise an important issue that's of concern to a lot of my constituents, and that's the ability to get safe housing. Over the past few weeks, I have been out and about in my electorate and I've been fortunate enough to actually go and visit the construction sites of some of the housing projects that are happening right across Tasmania because of the investments that our government has made.

Since coming to office, our government has invested over $800 million into housing projects in Tasmania. There's $800 million you can now see in construction on the ground. One in particular that I'm very proud of is in North Hobart.

It has 38 apartments and it's for older women, over the age of 65. When this was first proposed, the local council said no to this development. I said that that was the wrong decision by the council, and then they reconsidered it and we were able to get it approved.

I'm really pleased that the building has now had the concrete pour and that these apartments are going up, and that women over the age of 65 will be eligible for these homes that are being provided by St Vincent de Paul—Vinnies—together with state government and federal government investment. It is really significant. There's over $15 million of federal government funding going into these apartments.

I was also really pleased to announce last week that more than $15 million will go into more transition and emergency housing for women and children fleeing family violence. We all know that one of the reasons many women don't leave is that they have nowhere safe to go. So we know these investments are going to be really significant.

The transition and emergency accommodation will be built across Tasmania, including in my electorate. There's more funding for SDA, specialist disability accommodation, in Rokeby. These projects are happening right across my electorate, but they are indeed indicative of what is happening across Tasmania.

I've said at recent press conferences in Tasmania that you won't be able to find a social or affordable home in Tasmania going up that doesn't have federal government money in it. That remains true. Right across the state, there is a big investment from our federal government of, as I said, over $800 million.

We continue to work with the not-for-profit organisations and with the Tasmanian government to make sure that these homes get built as quickly as possible. We know how tough it is for Tasmanians in terms of housing. Also, the rental market is really tight.

We have a lot of short-stay accommodation, and we know how serious this issue is in Tasmania. That is why we've put in such significant investments. We're also working hard to get more Tasmanians into their own first home.

We now have more people in Tasmania going into first homeownership through the government scheme. It's been terrific to meet some of those locals who were previously renters and who are now in their own homes because of the federal government's scheme. The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Lawrence ): In accordance with standing order 193, the time for members' constituency statements has concluded.