DISABILITY HOUSING SA
27/11/2012
The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (15:20): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Minister for Disabilities concerning budget allocations for the purchase of houses for people with intellectual disabilities.
Leave granted.
The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD: Media reports from this year and as recently as the last few weeks have indicated that some $13.5 million was allocated for the purchase of homes through Housing SA for use by people with an intellectual disability. My questions for the minister are:
1.How many houses is it proposed to build or purchase for that $13.5 million?
2.Will this funding result in additional government funded houses becoming available or will there simply be a transfer of homes from existing stock of Housing SA houses for use by Disability SA and its clients?
3What is the estimated amount that is likely to be realised from the sale of the Strathmont Centre land as currently proposed?
The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion, Minister for Social Housing, Minister for Disabilities, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers) (15:21): I thank the honourable member for his very important question. The 2012-13 state budget provided the single largest investment by a South Australian government into disability ever. The Weatherill government allocated $212.5 million in new funding over five years. This much-needed funding is now being rolled out across the sector, and I am happy to provide details on how we are using this funding to make real changes in the sector right now and how we are using this funding to make a difference in the lives of people with a disability in South Australia.
In terms of the housing issue which the honourable member raised, increasing the supply of appropriate supported accommodation for people with a disability is the high priority for this state government. The 2012 state budget provided additional funding of about $61.5 million over four years for the construction and support of people into supported accommodation. These funds will be applied in a variety of ways that will further increase and improve the available housing supply for people with a disability, providing over 250 people, possibly, depending on the configuration of the houses, with a disability with appropriate housing.
This is in addition to the budget funds allocated for more appropriate community-based accommodation for residents of the Strathmont Centre and closing the centre as a residential site for people with disabilities. My department is currently developing a housing plan that will outline the best use of this capital funding over the next four years in order to provide the maximum number of people with quality and appropriate accommodation. The priority for this funding is to provide accommodation for those people in emergency placements at the moment that are either high cost or so-called blocking respite beds. The housing plan will consider a range of building and ownership options, including working with the non-government sector.
The first and only property to be bought using Disability Housing capital funding to 27 August was for a property at 22 Nepean Avenue, Kingscote. This property is a house that will be used by existing respite services which could not find an appropriate cost-effective rental house. The purchase price was approximately $342,000, with an additional amount to be allocated for fit-out and minor modification. It is expected to be used for the provision of disability services later in 2012 following those modifications.
In regard to the question about Strathmont and the future sale of that land, of course I cannot provide any estimate at this stage of when that land might be sold and what the value of that land may be at any point in time into the future, but the value of that land has already, if you like, been drawn down for the disability budget in terms of housing, and when it is finally sold the value of that money will be returned to the pot from which we are already spending money for disability housing.
The PRESIDENT: Supplementary: the Hon. Ms Vincent.
The Hon. K.L. VINCENT (15:24): I appreciate that the minister has already talked about not being able to give figures and so on about the sale of the Strathmont land, but in his answer to the question he talked about closing the Strathmont Centre as a residential site. Do the words ‘as a residential site’ mean that there is some specific other purpose in mind?
The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion, Minister for Social Housing, Minister for Disabilities, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers) (15:24): No: what that is about is that there are other functions that are performed on site. There is domiciliary care, I think, and other HACC providers. So we do not plan to be closing down those service provisions that are housed on the site. What we will be closing down is the residential facility.
