Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The federal Labor government has made tackling homelessness a national priority, and locally, in the Ipswich and West Moreton area, that has been expressed by the huge investment in social housing. People have been doing it tough in our area for some time with respect to access to affordable housing, and I am pleased that the Gillard Labor government has invested $66.5 million in funding for social housing projects and Defence housing in the Ipswich area. Recently I attended, with the member for Ipswich West, Wayne Wendt, and the housing minister for Queensland, Karen Struthers, an inspection of a six one-bedroom unit complex at 53 Lowry Street at North Ipswich. Construction across the electorate of Mr Wendt, the state member for Ipswich West, totals $22 million. There have been 130 jobs created in that state electorate alone. This project at 53 Lowry Street created 10 jobs in the Ipswich area. It is a combination of accommodation styles, with different aspects of the facilities available to people with different abilities. For example, two of the units are adapted to accommodate people with disabilities and another has been made fully wheelchair accessible.

All tenants come from a register of need, and they include pensioners and people on low incomes, who sometimes just need a hand to get back on their feet. One of these people was Allen Jones, a 24-year-old who spent most of his adult life relying on friends before he could get this kind of facility. He was pleased to go there, and he said this, which I think is worth recording:

Having my own place means I can concentrate on work and not have to worry about the next place I’m going to live.

What a great statement about what it means to him as an individual to be provided with social housing. The rollout across Queensland will see $1.2 billion of social housing across the state and 7,800 jobs, and more than 6,000 people who have been doing it tough will find safe and secure accommodation for the first time in their lives. The building program through the nation building and stimulus funding is due to be completed by June 2012. This will make a big difference, both in my state of Queensland and locally in the electorate of Blair, particularly in the Ipswich area. I warmly welcome the funding, which will make a difference in the lives of people like Allen.