Natasha Griggs (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise again to raise the important issue of the 396 RAAF base houses in Eaton, Darwin. These are the same houses I have spoken on before in this place, the same suburb where over 200 taxpayer funded houses are sitting vacant, wasting away in the tropics. This is despite the parliament unanimously supporting my motion last year to make these houses available to Territorians. Shame on the Gillard Labor government for wasting taxpayer funded resources. And shame on this Gillard Labor government for ignoring the will of the parliament and the will of Territorians.

I also hear that this government is now planning to knock down 120 perfectly good houses in the suburb of Eaton and replace them with 120 houses. What a disgrace. Let me tell you this is not the first time this government has ripped down perfectly good accommodation in Darwin. Three hundred units have been knocked down on the Robertson barracks. Those units were less than 10 years old. What rationale could there possibly be for knocking them down? Secondly, why was it that units that are 15 years old in the same barracks are still standing? This is a disgrace. I hear that the guys that were staying in those units are now living in demountables on the base which are in worse condition than experienced by those people living in our detention centres in Darwin. So we have got Defence personnel living in worse conditions than detainees in detention. This is a disgrace and a shame on this Gillard Labor government. I am just embarrassed.

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