Tuesday, 22 March 2022

Adjournment

Rooming house regulation

Mr SOUTHWICK (Caulfield) (19:00): (6276) My adjournment is for the Premier, and the action I ask for is an immediate review of Melbourne Home Share Pty Ltd’s licence to operate a rooming house and a fundamental policy review to crack down on rogue rooming house operators. Imagine someone pacing down your local street in the middle of the night waving a large machete. Imagine being woken at 5.00 am by the sound of a neighbour smashing a car on the street with a hammer. Imagine having someone high on drugs knocking on your door and demanding money. Well, this is a daily occurrence in terms of what goes on in Albion Street. The residents have been saying for some time now that they want an investigation into the operator of this rooming house, which is not only putting those in the street at risk but also putting those in the rooming house at risk.

Melbourne Home Share has abrogated its duty to the community and to the vulnerable residents in this house. Melbourne Home Share runs four rooming houses in my electorate. On 25 April 2021 Victoria Police conducted a raid and uncovered 100 illicit marijuana plants—these are not small ones; they are my height, 6 foot—and this resulted in an arrest. Ten months later, on 25 January 2022, it happened again—200 plants and 200 arrests. This was all under the eyes and under the supervision of Melbourne Home Share. Residents are simply at their wits’ end.

On five separate occasions over the last year we have raised this in Parliament. Nothing has been done. I have raised it with the Minister for Consumer Affairs, Gaming and Liquor Regulation. I have raised it with the Minister for Police. Each time we have gone to the Premier’s ministers nothing has been done to address this. The Minister for Consumer Affairs, Gaming and Liquor Regulation has washed her hands, telling us that Melbourne Home Share complies with the necessary standards under the Rooming House Operators Act 2016 and thus no action can be taken.

Premier, if a rooming house operator is able to continue to hold a licence despite two separate police raids eight months apart to secure 300-plus full-size marijuana plants, then clearly there is something wrong with this law. How can a landlord inspection miss 200 full-size plants? Premier, you as the government set the agenda and you control the rules. Therefore I urge you to again review the suitability of Melbourne Home Share Pty Ltd to hold a licence, to guarantee the safety of residents both inside the rooming house and in Albion Street and to commit to policy reform in the area of rooming house regulation.