Dr ANDREW McDONALD: My question is addressed to the Minister for Housing. What action is the Government taking to improve social housing in New South Wales?

Mr DAVID BORGER: I thank the member for his question and for his commitment to very disadvantaged people that live in public housing in the Macquarie Fields electorate. The New South Wales Government is absolutely committed to expanding the amount of housing for very disadvantaged people across the State. That is why I was proud this morning to announce that this Government will give the lead to all the other States when it transfers up to 7,000 properties to the community housing sector. This is a bold step and it will grow the amount of housing that is available for disadvantaged families that are struggling to put a roof over their heads in difficult times and to pay rent during the rental squeeze.

By providing registered and approved community housing organisations with a balance sheet, we will give them the chance to grow and build more housing, to borrow against that asset base and enhanced income stream, and to do more for disadvantaged people. The sector in New South Wales has already proved that it is ready for this challenge. Operating in New South Wales is 40 per cent of the community housing sector for the whole of Australia. I am advised that with the social housing growth fund the sector has been able to secure $23 million in private finance that would not otherwise have been available to deliver an extra 79 homes with a much more modest program than the one we announced today. In the United Kingdom, where such a policy already exists, there has been massive growth in social housing over the past 20 years, with 255,000 houses being delivered to, and 43 billion pounds invested in, social housing by community housing providers taking a similar approach.

In New South Wales we will transfer title to 7,000 properties by the end of June 2012 as a first step. Based on a completely independent analysis, and subject to market conditions, community housing providers could borrow up to 50 per cent of the market value of those properties. We are committed to helping the sector grow because of its strong track record in managing social housing and looking after people, with tenants in the community housing sector in New South Wales reporting much higher levels of satisfaction than expressed by traditional public housing tenants.

We know that we need more than the Government approach to deliver housing for the State. Community housing providers can access a range of additional finance streams, partnerships and Federal Government funding, such as Commonwealth Rent Assistance, which is not available to State providers. They can also deliver new housing at a lower price because, with their charitable status, they do not pay GST on new housing. So there are a lot of financial reasons for putting money into community housing, transferring title and unlocking the potential of such properties. We will keep an ongoing interest in the transferred properties, and approval will be needed to redevelop or sell any of the properties to ensure that the numbers of social housing homes is maintained within the State. This bold new policy is already receiving support from the sector. Nick Sabel, the President of the New South Wales Federation of Housing Associations, said:

This is fantastic news! The Community Housing sector welcomes and applauds the New South Wales Government's approval of title, in effect meaning that community housing providers will have ownership over some of its assets.

Title will provide the sector with increased opportunities to generate additional finances through leveraging from our assets. This in turn will enable us to acquire and develop more housing for people with a housing need in New South Wales.

I acknowledge Adam Farrar from the New South Wales Federation of Housing Associations and Nazha Saad from St George Community Housing, who are present in the gallery today. They know this is a historic opportunity to grow housing for disadvantaged people. I look forward to keeping the House updated on this bold new initiative.

Question time concluded at 3.16 p.m.