Wednesday, 6 April 2022

Department of Treasury and Finance

Budget papers 2021–22

Mr GEPP (Northern Victoria) (16:56): I rise to make a statement about the budget 2021–22. In particular I want to address the Big Housing Build that was announced through the budget. Of course a couple of weeks ago we had a bit of a debate in this place about homelessness and social housing, and what we heard during that debate were some breathtaking contributions, and one in particular. It came from the Liberal Party, and when you go back and you have a read of what the Liberal Party said during the course of that debate, you can only draw one conclusion—that is, that their social housing policy going to the election is based around segregation and a bigoted response to this very important area of public policy. It is elitist. It is postcode snobbery. In fact they advanced the view in this place during that debate that whether or not you could have residency in a particular postcode if social housing existed in that postcode depended upon the standard of shoe—‘sneaker’, I think was the term used—and whether or not you had the latest iPhone. If you did not, then your kids could not possibly mix with kids in a particular neighbourhood who might have a more expensive, more well known brand of sneaker.

Of course the public commentary since that debate has been very, very telling. It is not me or anybody on this side of the house making this stuff up. People who objectively looked at that debate formed their own views, including Stuart Allen, the director of the Homeless Project, a not-for-profit that is based here in Melbourne. His assessment of the Liberal Party’s position stated in that debate was that it is out of touch and that a model which integrates affordable housing in socio-economically different suburbs had proved more successful than separation. I quote:

The British tried segregation some years ago, where they basically tried to separate the poor and marginalised in high rise units separate to London, giving them their own suburb …

We realised that just simply creates ghettos. The Australian model seems to work quite well with interspersed public housing in prominent suburbs like South Yarra in Williamstown, and Melbourne.

His assessment? ‘We should continue with it’.

I have had many, many constituents during the course of the last sitting week and this sitting week reach out from my electorate of Northern Victoria condemning the Liberal Party for the position that they put during that debate. They are clearly not understanding the needs of people who are in the situation where they rely on social housing to be able to improve their livability. Clearly the ignorance shown by the Liberal Party, and in particular Ms Lovell, who was their spokesperson on that particular day, has not gone unnoticed in Northern Victoria, and nor should it.

The other thing that has not gone unnoticed is the lack of condemnation by the Leader of the Liberal Party. He described the contribution—get this—as ‘clumsy’.

Ms Shing: But well intentioned.

Mr GEPP: Well intentioned but clumsy. I actually say to Mr Guy, it was not clumsy, it was not well intentioned; it was bigoted, it was segregationist, it was separatist, it was snobbery and it came from somebody who formerly occupied the position of housing minister in this state, someone who should know better. But she has got form, because back in 2010 she was part of a campaign where there was a development for housing going on in Bentleigh for displaced women. She was leading the charge to ensure that that did not occur. But then of course when they won the election, who do you reckon turned up in the white car and cut the ribbon? She had the audacity to campaign against this development and then turned up in the big white car and cut the ribbon, and all smiles. Well, shame on you and shame on Matthew Guy. He needs to come out and condemn the contribution not as clumsy but as a bigoted, segregationist, separatist response to an important public policy debate. He needs to put on the record that he will not support any member of the Liberal Party who holds such views, and he needs to clearly enunciate what the Liberal Party’s policy is going into the next election, because right now it stinks.