Thursday, 3 April 2025

 Martin CAMERON (Morwell) (14:44): (1092) My question is for the Minister for Consumer Affairs. How will the minister address the disproportionate concentration of rooming houses in Morwell? According to the consumer affairs register, there are 17 rooming houses in Morwell, making up 106 bedrooms, but many suspect the number is much higher, with rogue operators not on the register operating unregistered and unregulated. Rooming houses have a role to play in offering housing to disadvantaged individuals, but the over-representation of rooming houses in Morwell is having a disastrous impact on public safety. These individuals, many of them recently released from prison, are being moved from Melbourne and pushed into Morwell because the rent is relatively cheap. Police have told me it is having a huge impact on their resources. The Business Licensing Authority, which is responsible for providing licences for rooming houses, is meant to balance the interests of businesses, consumers and the public when granting licences for rooming houses, but I would argue the BLA is failing to do this.