Canberra Liberals MLA Mark Parton, Shadow Minister for Housing and Homelessness, will call on the ACT Labor-Greens government to publicly release a six-monthly snapshot of public housing stock in the ACT and to update on the progress of meeting the growth and renewal targets.

Mr Parton said the wait list for public housing in the ACT has exploded by 44 per cent over the last three years, increasing to 3,175 Canberrans this month from 2,209 in 2020.

“This ACT Labor-Greens government continually hides where they are at in regard to growth and renewal of public housing stock,” Mr Parton said.

“There is no excuse for why the Minister [for Housing and Suburban Development, Yvette Berry] cannot provide a snapshot every six months that clearly shows the amount of public housing stock, how much is being built, knocked down, and how many additional properties have been purchased.

“Currently, sifting through the documents and annual reports and the budget, it is very opaque and impossible to know exactly where we are at with public housing stock, and I think the reason for that is because they are clearly not going to meet their targets.”

The Labor-Greens government committed to adding 400 public housing dwellings to the stock by 2025 which was later revised to 2026-27; Mr Parton believes it is still unlikely they will meet that target.

“The Minister knows they won’t meet their targets, the Greens know they won’t meet their targets, and I think it’s almost certain it will be pushed out further again beyond 2026-27.

“Despite the Greens and the Housing and Homelessness Minister [Rebecca Vassarotti] going to the last election promising a home for all, it is very concerning that the wait list for public housing continues to grow, with some Canberrans waiting over five years for a home.

“That is why I am also calling on the government to rule out any additional extensions to the deadline on the addition of 400 new dwellings to the public housing stock.”