Wednesday, 4 March 2026

 Harriet SHING (Eastern Victoria – Minister for the Suburban Rail Loop, Minister for Housing and Building, Minister for Development Victoria and Precincts) (19:25): This evening there were 4912 adjournment items, and they will be referred to the relevant ministers for response! There were a number of matters which did come under the portfolio of housing, so I will acquit them this evening.

At the outset I want to confirm to Mr Berger his commitment to ensuring that towers residents who are part of relocations will continue to be consulted, to be engaged, as part of the allocation of relocations officers, through support with information through information hubs; a survey which was provided from last week to residents; the way in which we are having family and friends sessions; and the Hand in Hand program, which is about making sure that residents can hear from people who have already relocated as part of previous towers redevelopment processes and settled in new homes. This is alongside making sure that people have information which is accurate and providing them with a measure of comfort about the things that will remain the same, including that rental settings will not be changed as a consequence of relocation; that people will have a right of return to the redeveloped area once it is completed; or that people will be able to stay in the areas to which they relocate, should they so wish.

There is a dedicated relocations team led by Peter Beaumont that is making sure that people have access to information around identifying the priorities, whether it is staying close to your church, your medical centre, early childhood education or your job. And for older people this is about being within walking distance of the sorts of things that are the most important, given that driving is often a challenge. There will be no relocations under this program until July this year, and they will continue to flow from July until the beginning of 2028. It is a slow process, because it needs to be done thoroughly and carefully, and it needs to be guided by the views of residents, including as those views and perspectives and priorities may change about where they want to live. So thank you, Mr Berger, for the ongoing commitment that you have demonstrated. It has been really wonderful to attend all seven of the towers as part of the most recent tranche of announcements, announced at the end of January, to hear from residents about the things that are most important to them and to make sure that as we progress with this work we are doing so in a careful, safe and inclusive way.

I want to say thank you to Mr McGowan for his very, very pithy matter, seeking some information about housing across part of the region that he represents in this place. I am very happy to provide some information to him. He is not here at the moment, so perhaps acquitting that in writing might be the best way to go.

Finally, we come to Ms Lovell’s adjournment, and this matter has been a really important part of delivering on a record investment across housing, whether it is the capital builds that we have got and that record funding delivered as part of the Big Housing Build, the Regional Housing Fund, the Social Housing Growth Fund or a range of capital programs that have totalled between $8 billion and $9 billion, amounting to between 16,000 and 17,000 new social housing homes, alongside a record investment in homelessness services, with around $300 million allocated to people as part of a range of programs. This sits alongside intensive support and engagement for people in vulnerable cohorts, whether that is the record number of young people who are homeless or rough sleeping because of family violence, or older women who are victim-survivors of coercive control, financial instability or family violence themselves. I spoke earlier in this place and will continue to speak about the importance of supporting people right across the state, whether it is First Nations housing or whether it is housing for older people, women and children, young families or young people with complex needs.

The Education First Youth Foyer system has actually been part of delivering on the youth housing capital grants program. That is a $50 million allocation, with 10 new sites pegged for over 130 young people across Victoria. Six of those youth foyers are already operating, with four due for completion in 2027. It has been wonderful to be able to go to these Education First Youth Foyers and to see the difference that they are making to the young people who live in them for up to two years. What we are determined to do is make sure that we are providing people with more than just housing, so there is wraparound support to help people to stay in education, gain independence and build a better future, and it is about combining time spent in leisure activities alongside study and work and also planning for long-term stable housing and accommodation.

We have done partnerships with a range of organisations. When I was, for example, at Wodonga, that included a partnership with Beyond Housing, Wodonga TAFE, Junction Support Services and the Brotherhood of St Laurence, and that is a really wonderful space which provides I think it is 40 fully self-contained studio apartments. There is also a really wonderful communal kitchen and open space for people to share, and it is about making and finding connections that then provide young people with a pathway through to their own identity, their own confidence and their own potential. We will continue to do that work because we know that it shifts the dial, and we also know that record investment across rural and regional Victoria into social housing is making a really important difference. It is also about, again, making sure that as we equip the entire state to manage the challenges of housing and homelessness and rough sleeping –

Wendy Lovell interjected.

Harriet SHING: Ms Lovell, I note your interjections about a specific geographic location. I just remember it was not too long ago, Ms Lovell, that you were saying that kids should not be going to Brighton because they could not afford sneakers and iPods. Again, let us just talk about the entire state, shall we? It does not serve your purposes to go down a rabbit hole.

Again, we have had a record amount of funding delivered to housing. This is housing funding which, again, the Liberal Party had indicated it would cut. Ten billion dollars was going to be cut under the Housing Australia Future Fund. The Liberals have indicated, as part of $11.1 billion in cuts, that programs and frontline services, including capital upgrades, will no longer be provided should the government change in November. This is a very real set of wake-up calls for people who will not have access to programs, supports and services, who will not have access to the sorts of wraparound supports and care that they deserve and who will not have access to secure and stable housing to meet their needs now and into the future. I would urge the coalition–One Nation partnership to get on board with the work we are doing to deliver safe and stable accommodation to people in need. I would urge them to stop blocking and opposing the delivery of housing, which again, Ms Lovell, you have done on so many occasions with your voting record in this place. You have blocked and opposed and objected to housing being delivered for people in some of the most vulnerable circumstances imaginable. The doublespeak is not lost on this government, but actions speak louder than words, and the work that we have done has delivered a record amount of housing: 12,000 homes as part of the Big Housing Build, plus an additional 1300 homes as part of the Regional Housing Fund and that regional package. We will continue that work to deliver on education youth foyers. You may have cut funding when you were in government to housing and homelessness programs. You may have turned your back on people who were in extreme vulnerability, often living with trauma that required intensive wraparound support. That is not what we do. We do not cut, we invest in the services and supports that people need.

Georgie Crozier: On a point of order, President, I am sorry to have to do this – we all want to go home – but the minister is just misleading the house. I mean, she is just –

Harriet Shing interjected.

Georgie Crozier: I said that to Ms Lovell: ‘Why don’t you move a motion against the minister with her outrageous comments that she’s making?’ They are not true and you know it. Desist from it, Minister, and move on.

The PRESIDENT: Making accusations about a member misleading the house is an opportunity to put a motion on the notice paper regarding that.

Georgie Crozier interjected.

Harriet SHING: Sorry, I ask you to withdraw that.

Georgie Crozier: I said, ‘You all lie.’

Harriet SHING: No, before that.

Georgie Crozier: I said, ‘You all lie. You’re shocking.’

Harriet SHING: As I have indicated to the house, and as I will continue to indicate to you, Ms Lovell, we will not turn our backs on vulnerable Victorians. We will keep making record investment. You keep cutting and you keep denying people the services that they need. We know that secure, stable and accessible housing, alongside practical cost-of-living assistance and alongside the work to help people into jobs and education, with the relevant health care that they need to reach their full potential, is of essential importance. We are delivering for all Victorians, Ms Lovell. It is a shame that you cannot see that and have it reflected in the sorts of opportunities that we are delivering to young people every single day, including right across your electorate. I am looking forward to being able to see further announcements being made as part of the budgetary process, which goes directly to the heart of your adjournment and the first sentence of it.

The PRESIDENT: The house stands adjourned.

House adjourned 7:35 pm.