Disruptive Housing SA Tenants - TV Transcript - 19 December 2011

INTERVIEWEES: Robert Brokenshire, Family First MP; Brendan Moran, Director of Housing SA; Julie MacDonald, Housing Trust Tenants’ Association & Mildred Noland, Tenant

MAKIN
First tonight the rogue tenants owing millions of dollars to Housing SA. These low-life tenants refuse to pay their rent or cough up for the damage they cause to properties. Now the costs are just blowing out all the time. At last count it was around $20 million. But instead of throwing them out Housing SA appears to reward them by letting them stay on to continue to reek havoc, and that’s while thousands of needy families of course are still waiting to get a roof over their heads. Lucy Polkinghorne reports on a government department drowning in debt and incompetenance.

BROKENSHIRE
Why is Housing SA prepared to see this massive amount of debt that is working against the best interests of taxpayers?

MORAN
The debt that’s owed to Housing SA increased quite considerably a couple of years ago.

MACDONALD
I think we need an overhaul of the Housing SA system. Something needs to be done.

REPORTER
It’s the multi-million dollar question that needs to be answered.

BROKENSHIRE
Why are they allowing this debt? What are they doing all day? I mean in the private sector this would never happen.

REPORTER
South Australian Housing Trust tenants have racked up an astounding $19.7 million debt and the Government appears to have let it happen.

MORAN
We had a situation where debt was increasing by, you know, by quite significant amounts to a point where we were expecting the debt to balloon to quite large amounts.

REPORTER
Public housing is primarily intended to provide affordable accommodation for families who can’t pay for private rental, but it seems some tenants are abusing that privilege and outstaying their welcome.

MACDONALD
The Government seems to be housing more and more high risk tenants and our tenants are just fed up with the noise, the abuse, the threats, the drug dealing.

BROKENSHIRE
The highest one on the list we got who’s trashed to the extent of $43,000 damage to their property.

REPORTER
Freedom of Information documents, requested by Family First MLC Rob Brokenshire, reveal the top 20 offending tenants. All up they owe nearly $600,000 in unpaid rent and property damage.

MORAN
We have a number of instances where a small minority do do damage to the houses, trash houses and so forth and in those cases we do go in, repair the damage and sometimes the damage is up to twenty to thirty thousand dollars.

REPORTER
One tenant alone owes nearly $50,000 to the public purse. The Director of Housing SA, Brendan Moran, says they are trying to get a handle on this debt.

MORAN
We needed to change and improve the way we manage debt through putting in place debt specialist teams.

REPORTER
Try as they might the debt isn’t going away. It remains the same as it was 18 months ago.

MACDONALD
And the trouble is they’re re-housed quite often after they trash a property and run up a debt and they’re given another house and they do it again and it-- so it just doesn’t work.

REPORTER
Julie MacDonald from the Housing Trust Association says it’s not fair that well behaved tenants are forced to pay the price.

MACDONALD
There’s been a lot of changes in the rent structure this year, with children paying rent, with cottage flat rents going up, with pensioner’s income being garnished and that is to cover the debt and it’s just not fair that the deserving tenants have to meet the expenses of the unsavoury tenants.

MORAN
We must provide housing to those in greatest need, so we are housing a much more high needs, much more complex [unclear] now than we did ten to twenty years ago.

REPORTER
Ironically our social inclusion policy seems to exclude the mainstream. The priority, it’s given to those at risk.

MORAN
We have a policy or setting which ensures we house first people who are homeless, people who are victims of domestic violence, people with psychiatric issues as well.

REPORTER
While no question this is an area of need is there a better way?

MACDONALD
There needs to be much more social housing, purpose built social housing for these people and rehabilitation. Rehabilitation is key and social skills need to be learnt before people are tipped into public housing.

REPORTER
For those who meet their responsibilities it can be puzzling how others seem to be able to do as they please.

NOLAND
I’m always a, you know, stickler for bills to be paid. Bills come first, then you live what-- on what’s left.

REPORTER
Adelaide grandmother, Mildred Noland, is one of those law abiding tenants. She’s lived in the same Housing Trust complex for 30 years.

NOLAND
I don’t cause any ruffles or-- and I keep the place as clean as I can.

REPORTER
But poor Mildred at 84 can’t even get a safe and convenient place to park the gopher she relies on as a result of an accident.

NOLAND
The injuries made me that I can’t walk. I can only walk about three hundred to five hundred yards – my lefts stiffen and my legs stiffen at night and I’m toddling like as though I was just learning to walk.

REPORTER
And it’s not like she’s asking for much.

NOLAND
I wanted to park it in the community room because it’s close handy to my flat and also it has power points which I could recharge the gopher overnight.

REPORTER
But she was told by the Housing Trust committee she wasn’t allowed to.

NOLAND
They said no because it’s a community room and they don’t give out keys to everybody.

REPORTER
Instead she has to park it in a storeroom a good five minute walk from her flat. It’s a minor issue, but it matters.

MACDONALD
We find often we have to fight just for, say, separate water meters for elderly people who live upstairs that are getting bills for $260, for railing, for ramps, for maintenance on their property. I mean it’s absolutely crucial that we look after people and that they live in secure, decent properties.

REPORTER
Meanwhile, 20,000 people are desperately waiting to get into public housing while these destructive tenants are given priority. Perhaps the line needs to be drawn somewhere.

BROKENSHIRE
If you’re not doing the right thing three strikes and you’re out.



[End]