The Victorian Public Tenants Association has welcomed increased spending on public housing in this year’s Budget.
The VPTA has been calling for a focus on increasing the level of public housing to reduce the waiting list and to combat homelessness.
Our view was that the part of the Budget that needed the greatest attention was new projects. Last year new public housing projects received funding of $267M. This year the Budget is $469M.
This 75% increase in new funding is a great result.
This includes:
$36M for the Flemington estate redevelopment
$26M for the High rise upgrade
$48M for long-term housing
$23M for the Markham Estate redevelopment
$185M for the Public Housing Renewal Project
Our focus is on ensuring that these projects are delivered as quickly as possible.
We need better public housing for our current tenants, we need more public housing to cater for our growing population.
But most of all we need a shared commitment to reverse the decades of neglect that we have experienced.