The Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) ACT branch has called for the ACT Government to in-source public housing maintenance and guarantee acceptable living conditions for public housing tenants.

The CFMEU states that residents wait months for repairs; that some neglected issues are life-threatening; and that the third-party contractors upon whom the government relies have not fulfilled their responsibilities.

The CFMEU, one of Labor’s biggest donors, also claims that this situation is an affront to the party’s core values.

“We have been to the ACT’s public housing units, talking to tenants about their maintenance problems and seeing first-hand just how bad the problems are,” the CFMEU said in a statement.

“We are seeing life-threatening issues like collapsing retaining walls, faulty smoke detectors, and exposed wiring being left for months without any sign of being fixed.

“Residents are desperately seeking repairs and are waiting for months just to hear back, if they even hear back at all.

“The ACT Government relies on third-party contractors for maintenance repairs. However, these contractors, despite being funded by taxpayers, are failing to fulfill their responsibilities, leaving residents in deplorable living conditions reminiscent of third-world countries. This negligence is utterly unacceptable.

“Every Canberran should be shocked and appalled by what the ACT government has done here.

“For a Labor government to have presided over this situation is an affront to the party’s core values, and we will be making public housing maintenance an issue at the next ACT election.”

Political responses

Yvette Berry, ACT Minister for Housing and Suburban Development, said that government services should not be contracted out where public servants could perform them, and that ACT Labor was committed to implementing this policy.

“I am currently considering the repairs and maintenance of public housing in line with this policy,” Ms Berry said.

“ACT Labor is committed to ensuring we can both respond to tenant needs providing a safe and secure well-maintained home as well as support local industry, business, trades, and workers in our Canberra region.”

Ms Berry has asked the Community Services Directorate to assess the existing contract with third-party contractors to improve the quality and efficiency of the work.

Last year, when opposition and ACT Greens MLAs raised the issue, Ms Berry remarked that the in-sourcing contract was the largest the ACT Government had; cancelling the contract mid-term would be complex. However, the government was considering insourcing as much as possible, although to do so would take time and investigation.

Ms Berry defended the government’s record on housing supply and maintenance. In the last budget, she said, the government allocated $177 million for Housing ACT to grow, renew and maintain high quality public housing over four years. In 2023-24, the government will spend $51 million for maintenance and upgrades, including replacing unsuitable kitchens and bathrooms; and $14 million for repairs, including plumbing and electrical work.

The government has set a target of renewing 1,000 homes, in addition to maintaining public housing properties, Ms Berry said.

“Replacing old unsuitable dwellings with new homes through the growing and renewing program means there will be less maintenance and repairs required and more modern homes for public housing tenants.”

Canberra Liberals

Canberra Liberals MLA Mark Parton, Shadow Minister for Housing and Homelessness, criticised the state of public housing maintenance in the ACT. It was, he said, “a complete disaster, and everyone from the tenants, through to the subcontractors, the union and the Minister knows it”.

“A majority of my portfolio related work revolves around forcing the government to address individual housing maintenance failures,” Mr Parton said. “Our Housing Ministers have absolutely failed in this space, and it’s very clear that a new approach must be found.

“This long-term negligence has severely impacted the lives of thousands of Canberrans who deserve so much better, and I will continue to fight for those people.

“Minister Berry speaks of Housing ACT as being a model landlord, and they are in reality the worst landlord in Canberra.

“The Canberra Liberals will have a lot more to say about the way forward once the Chief Minister and Treasurer [Andrew Barr] has confirmed our financial position in the upcoming budget.”

ACT Greens

The ACT Greens believe that housing maintenance should be insourced, Rebecca Vassarotti, Minister for Homelessness and Housing, said in her capacity as her party’s spokesperson for Housing.

“For decades, state and territory governments across Australia have disproportionately relied on private contractors to provide the public with essential services – delivering worse outcomes for Canberrans while giving up stable job opportunities and wasting tax payer dollars.

“We need to reverse the rot caused by privatisation and start taking charge of addressing big issues.

“When governments take charge of essential services, the community gets better outcomes.

“At the moment, public housing tenants have to speak separately to either ACT Housing or a private company depending on what they want to talk about – this process can be immensely confusing and frustrating.

“The experience of Canberrans living in public housing would be dramatically improved by being able to speak to one person about all things Housing, regardless if it’s maintenance issue or a tenancy issue.

“By reclaiming control of this responsibility, the Government will be able to prioritise the well-being of Canberrans in public housing over the ideologically driven outsourcing we’ve seen across the nation for decades.”