Media Release
A
newly elected Labor Government will re-establish access to free,
independent and impartial advice for tenants, Shadow Minister for
Housing Yvette D’Ath said today.
Mrs D’Ath said the LNP had cut funding soon after the March 2012 election to 21 organisations that provided tenancy advice services to Queenslanders, forcing them to close.
She said a future Labor Government would commit up to $20 million over four years to ensure tenants had access to independent and impartial advice about their rights and responsibilities.
“Tenants in the private and public sectors were badly let down when the Newman Government took away this important source of advice,” Mrs D’Ath said.
“The vast majority of people who use tenancy advice services are ordinary people who want to know about their rights and responsibilities to ensure they’re doing the right thing and getting a fair deal from their landlord.
“If a landlord is acting in a possibly illegal or unscrupulous manner, it’s important that tenants have access to affordable and reliable advice.
“We’re talking about pensioners, lower-paid workers and others who can’t afford to pay for expensive advice but need to know where they stand and the options available if there is a dispute.”
Mrs D’Ath said that since the Newman Government had slashed funding, community-based housing services had been unable to answer a large proportion of calls they received.
She said recent data released by Tenants Queensland showed that the demand for their advice service increased by 250% during 2014.
“However their capacity to respond to the demand has been reduced by 85% due to the Newman LNP Government’s cuts which resulted in thousands of calls not being answered.
“Since the last election, almost 137,000 calls went unanswered due to the LNP’s funding cuts.
“Making these services available to more people, more often will mean more people can get advice when they need it.
“There is no doubt that the previous service was needed. In the final year before it was scrapped the Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service helped approximately 70,000 clients.”
Mrs D’Ath said the re-instated service would operate throughout the state and would also assist clients to resolve a blacklisting record, prepare for tribunals, and apply for assistance with the Department of Housing.
“Labor will also restore fairness back into the public housing system”, Mrs D’Ath said.
“Labor will scrap the temporary absences policy which requires that tenants request permission to leave for holidays and will undertake a full review of housing policies to ensure that they are fair.
“Labor believes in treating all tenants, regardless of whether they reside in public or private rental accommodation with the respect and dignity that they deserve,” Mrs D’Ath said.
Mrs D’Ath said the LNP had cut funding soon after the March 2012 election to 21 organisations that provided tenancy advice services to Queenslanders, forcing them to close.
She said a future Labor Government would commit up to $20 million over four years to ensure tenants had access to independent and impartial advice about their rights and responsibilities.
“Tenants in the private and public sectors were badly let down when the Newman Government took away this important source of advice,” Mrs D’Ath said.
“The vast majority of people who use tenancy advice services are ordinary people who want to know about their rights and responsibilities to ensure they’re doing the right thing and getting a fair deal from their landlord.
“If a landlord is acting in a possibly illegal or unscrupulous manner, it’s important that tenants have access to affordable and reliable advice.
“We’re talking about pensioners, lower-paid workers and others who can’t afford to pay for expensive advice but need to know where they stand and the options available if there is a dispute.”
Mrs D’Ath said that since the Newman Government had slashed funding, community-based housing services had been unable to answer a large proportion of calls they received.
She said recent data released by Tenants Queensland showed that the demand for their advice service increased by 250% during 2014.
“However their capacity to respond to the demand has been reduced by 85% due to the Newman LNP Government’s cuts which resulted in thousands of calls not being answered.
“Since the last election, almost 137,000 calls went unanswered due to the LNP’s funding cuts.
“Making these services available to more people, more often will mean more people can get advice when they need it.
“There is no doubt that the previous service was needed. In the final year before it was scrapped the Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service helped approximately 70,000 clients.”
Mrs D’Ath said the re-instated service would operate throughout the state and would also assist clients to resolve a blacklisting record, prepare for tribunals, and apply for assistance with the Department of Housing.
“Labor will also restore fairness back into the public housing system”, Mrs D’Ath said.
“Labor will scrap the temporary absences policy which requires that tenants request permission to leave for holidays and will undertake a full review of housing policies to ensure that they are fair.
“Labor believes in treating all tenants, regardless of whether they reside in public or private rental accommodation with the respect and dignity that they deserve,” Mrs D’Ath said.
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