Tuesday, 17 October 2023

 Ella GEORGE (Lara) (16:49): It was my honour to recently welcome the new Minister for Housing and the member for Geelong to the Lara electorate to officially open three new social housing homes as part of a $1.45 million development at Camellia Crescent in Norlane. These homes are thanks to a partnership between Homes Victoria and the Northern Geelong Rental Housing Cooperative. The units are a great example of what can happen when the government works with community. These units were built for the express purpose of enabling existing members to access a smaller home that is the right size for them and in turn free up three family-sized homes for families in need. The homes are designed to meet the Livable Housing Design Guidelines, including having double-glazed windows, double insulation, solar panels and solar hot water, helping residents keep their power bills down once they move in.

The work that the Northern Geelong Rental Housing Cooperative do is so important in my community. Their vision is to empower their members, and their values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity are to be commended. The co-op being governed by members and the committee being made up of members mean that the residents are involved in the ongoing decision-making and responsibility for their housing and living conditions. These units are a great example of what we can do when we listen to community and work with community. I want to congratulate Vicki Ross, the manager of the co-op, and everyone involved for bringing this project to fruition.