Tuesday, 17 June 2025

Responses

Gayle TIERNEY (Western Victoria – Minister for Skills and TAFE, Minister for Water) (18:51): There were 20 adjournments this evening. Given that the Minister for Housing and Building is in the chamber, she will directly respond to the adjournment raised by Ms Lovell. The remaining 19 adjournments will be referred to the relevant and appropriate ministers.

Harriet SHING (Eastern Victoria – Minister for the Suburban Rail Loop, Minister for Housing and Building, Minister for Development Victoria and Precincts) (18:51): I would never suggest in this place that Ms Lovell looking at her phone, scrolling through Facebook or otherwise not paying attention in the committee stage of a bill indicated the conclusion that she was not interested in the parliamentary process, and I would never for a second cast an aspersion that Ms Lovell being asleep in the chamber is something which –

Wendy Lovell: On a point of order, President, the minister is supposed to be responding to my adjournment, not casting aspersions.

Harriet SHING: That is why I just said I would never –

Wendy Lovell: Well, you are. I am offended, and she should withdraw.

The PRESIDENT: Can I call the minister back to responding, please?

Harriet SHING: I would never suggest, Ms Lovell, that you have ever fallen asleep in this chamber. What I will do, however, is give you some answers to a question on housing, which I have actually addressed in this place before, so you might want to go back and have a look at Hansard lest you were not concentrating or paying attention at that time.

Wendy Lovell interjected.

Harriet SHING: Do not laugh at what I am saying, Ms Lovell. Housing is a very serious matter.

Wendy Lovell: On a point of order, President, this is a serious matter for my community. The minister has taken the information off the website and hidden it from public view. I am not laughing at the minister. She is casting aspersions in this house that are not true. The minister should just answer the question and get on with it but also get on with building the promised housing in the Macedon Ranges shire that was supposed to be –

The PRESIDENT: Ms Lovell, you have got on the record what I think you wanted on the record, and now you are debating the adjournment matter. The minister to respond on the adjournment matter.

Harriet SHING: It is a pity, Ms Lovell, that you keep interrupting while I am trying to address what is a very serious issue. If you could perhaps communicate to your constituents what you are failing to do on your feet with the information that I am about to give you now.

Wendy Lovell: On a point of order, President, the minister is just flouting your ruling now – absolutely flouting it.

The PRESIDENT: The minister to respond to the adjournment matter from Ms Lovell.

Harriet SHING: I would invite you, Ms Lovell, to perhaps go back and have a look at the Hansard –

Wendy Lovell: On a point of order, President, the minister is flouting your ruling. I have the answer from Hansard to what I asked last year. I wanted an update on that. You have hidden this information, and my constituents deserve to know where you are in failing to deliver this program.

The PRESIDENT: I think the minister is trying to respond and maybe just indicating that there is a response in Hansard as well.

Harriet SHING: Yes. Thank you. I was actually referring to the Hansard of your adjournment this evening, Ms Lovell. Casting aspersions is perhaps not something that would be particularly productive, as I think you have just discovered.

The investment that we have made across the Macedon shire, which will be under the Big Housing Build alone, commits $30 million, which will be done over the next 12 months, and there is a $12.5 million investment –

Wendy Lovell interjected.

Harriet SHING: Ms Lovell, this is a serious matter, and you should stop interrupting and paying lip-service to housing for some of the most vulnerable people in Victoria.

Wendy Lovell: On a point of order, President, this is a serious matter. The minister has failed in this program.

The PRESIDENT: That is debating again.

Wendy Lovell interjected.

The PRESIDENT: You might not like the response, but the minister is responding.

Harriet SHING: The $12.5 million investment that I was referring to earlier – before you stopped paying attention, Ms Lovell; eyes up – across all of our programs is for the 25 homes that have been committed, and 13 of those homes are complete. And I just want to also confirm –

Wendy Lovell: But that was the same last October.

Harriet SHING: Sorry – again, interjections, Ms Lovell, show that perhaps you are not paying attention, and that is unfortunate given the serious nature of the matter of housing for vulnerable Victorians. But what I would highlight is that 74 per cent of the $6.3 billion across the Regional Housing Fund and the Big Housing Build has been committed already and that 13 of the 18 local government areas have met or exceeded their minimum investment guarantees under the Big Housing Build regional funding.

I just want to make sure also that you are aware of a number of supports and programs, including through Wintringham and the sort of supports that we partner with the community housing sector on. Ms Lovell, if you actually ever do start to take the question of housing for vulnerable Victorians seriously rather than laughing at this –

Wendy Lovell: President, that is offensive.

Harriet SHING: I would be happy to give you a briefing.

Wendy Lovell: That is offensive, and I ask for a withdrawal.

Harriet SHING: I am done, President.

The PRESIDENT: Yes. I think I have heard similar things. I think we will just take it that the minister has finished.

Wendy Lovell: President, I am absolutely offended by that comment, and I ask for a withdrawal.

The PRESIDENT: I will ask the minister to withdraw.

Harriet SHING: President, in withdrawing, can I ask Ms Lovell to also withdraw what she cast as an aspersion earlier this evening, which was not found to be something that was offensive.

The PRESIDENT: I think that your statement that Ms Lovell has disregard for – I cannot even remember the words.

Harriet SHING: No, I said if she did, then I would be happy to give her a briefing.

The PRESIDENT: No, I think it was more where you indicated Ms Lovell has a disregard for public housing tenants or homeless people.

Harriet SHING: She kept interrupting.

The PRESIDENT: I understand that, but I will ask you to withdraw that part of it, please.

Harriet SHING: I do withdraw that bit, and Ms Lovell should stay awake for the rest of the proceedings in the house.

Wendy Lovell: President, on a point of order, that is offensive too.

The PRESIDENT: Minister, as I sometimes say to other members of this chamber when they are asked to withdraw and they add a bit of flourish, can you just say, ‘I withdraw.’

Harriet SHING: Yes. I withdraw. I am looking forward to helping Ms Lovell to better understand what we are doing.

Wendy LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (18:58): I have three outstanding adjournments: questions 1534, 1558 and 1621. The first one was due on 18 April, the second on 2 May and the final one on 13 June. None of them have been answered.

The PRESIDENT: I ask the minister at the table to please follow that up for the house.

Gayle Tierney: Yes.

The PRESIDENT: Thank you. The house stands adjourned.

House adjourned 6:59 pm.