AN “unlivable” social housing complex in Reid, infested with mould, maggots and dead birds, is being “ignored” by the ACT government, the opposition says.
Canberra Liberals leader Elizabeth Lee says she raised concerns about the “unsafe” living conditions at Kanangra Court to the ACT government four months ago.
To date (June 8), Ms Lee’s requests to the government to fix issues at the flats have fallen on deaf ears, she says.
“It is extremely disappointing and concerning to see houses in the ACT in this condition,” Ms Lee says.
“It is even more concerning that both Housing Ministers seem completely uninterested in fixing them.
“It has now been 120 days since I personally wrote to the Minister for Housing Services (Rebecca Vassarotti), to repair mould throughout the flats, [remove] dead birds in the roof cavities and maggots falling from the ceiling, and still no action has been taken.”
Kanangra Court was one of dozens of complexes built in the 1960s to house the ACT’s then public service workforce.
Shadow housing minister Mark Parton says there are “serious issues” affecting many public housing properties across the ACT and most Canberrans would be “horrified” to see the state of these houses.
“Labor and the Greens blocked the Canberra Liberals’ calls for an urgent repair and upgrade program and have rejected every accountability measure we have put forward,” Mr Parton says.
“Once again I call on the government to ensure all significant public housing maintenance requests, including those for health and safety defects be resolved as quickly as possible.”
A spokesperson for the ACT government said that apart from a pigeon problem, no requests for other maintenance issues at the housing complex, have been raised.
“Currently there are no requests for maintenance that have been raised against these issues, however, Housing ACT is aware of the ongoing presence of pigeons at the complex and as a result, ongoing maintenance including pest control measures such as pigeon eradication, is conducted on an annual basis,” the spokesperson said.
“Housing ACT works hard to ensure that public housing tenants live in safe, secure and well maintained homes.”
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