24 July 2023

In reply to the Hon. R.A. Simms MLC (2 May 2023):

My questions to the minister therefore are:

1. How many submissions were received as part of this review?
2. Will the government commit to publicly releasing the submissions received and the report?
3. Will the minister advise when we will see the full suite of reforms that the government has in mind?

Response by The Hon. K.J. MAHER:

"The Minister for Consumer and Business Affairs has advised that:

1. The government received 5,565 responses to the YourSAy survey and 156 written submissions. Of these written submissions, 60 were from stakeholder groups and the remaining submissions were from interested individuals.

2. Consumer and Business Services has advised of its intention to publish submissions received from stakeholder groups on the CBS website, excluding those marked as confidential. CBS has also advised that it intends to publish a summary of the YourSAy survey outcome on the CBS website.

3. The Malinauskas government remains committed to introducing further reforms to the Residential Tenancies Act 1995 in the second half of 2023.

14 September 2023

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (14:58): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before addressing a question without notice to the minister representing everybody, the Attorney-General, on the topic of the West End Brewery site.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS: It was reported in the Adelaide Advertiser online this morning that Renewal SA is the preferred bidder for the prime 8.4-hectare West End Brewery site, and the government's intention is now to engage private developers to construct housing to increase supply to help address our state's housing crisis. My question to the minister is: what percentage of the new dwellings on this site does the government intend to be for affordable housing and what percentage is intended for social housing, and will the government commit to building more than the 15 per cent currently required?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (14:58): I thank the honourable member for his question. I don't think it will surprise him to know that I don't have an answer for him right now. I will refer it to the appropriate minister, which I am pretty sure will be the Hon. Nick Champion, and bring back a reply, to the extent that one can be brought back. I am not sure what stage of planning it is up to with Renewal SA's bid for that site. I think they are the preferred bidder and, as I understand it, I don't think negotiations have been completed yet, so it might be that I have nothing to bring back, but if there is anything at this stage, I am happy to do so.

12 September 2023

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (14:44): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before addressing a question without notice to the Leader of the Government in this house on the topic of renters' rights.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS: In July, the Adelaide Advertiser reported that tenants in all but 15 South Australian suburbs and towns were experiencing severe rent stress, with new data from Suburbtrends showing some are spending more than 40 per cent of their income on rent. According to Suburbtrends founder, Kent Lardner, and I quote from that article:

Adelaide, long considered a sanctuary of affordability in both the rental and buying markets, seems to be undergoing a seismic shift. What was once a haven for locals seeking affordable living options is rapidly transforming, challenging the very idea of 'affordable Adelaide'. It's a significant change that could have profound implications for the city's residents.

The Advertiser went on to state that SA tenants were amongst those being hardest hit by the country's rental crisis, with data showing the state recorded the second highest rental pain index at 83.27. Last month, a Guardian Essential poll found that three in four Australians believe that rents should either be capped to inflation or frozen until economic conditions improve. Members will recall that last year I introduced a bill that would cap rent increases in line with inflation that was opposed by every other member of this place other than the Greens.

My question to the Attorney-General therefore is: when will the government finally listen to South Australians and take action to curb rent prices? When will they do something about rent prices?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (14:45): I thank the honourable member for his question. The honourable member would be aware that we had legislation in here only in recent weeks in relation to getting a better deal for renters in terms of rent bidding and a number of other areas, and there are other reforms that are being proposed. There has also been announced a dramatic release in land in South Australia to help with new home buildings, as well as initiatives in the state budget to encourage new homes to be built to ease stress on renters.

It certainly is something not just in Adelaide, as I think the honourable member has mentioned in previous contributions, as right around Australia we are facing shortages of rental properties and increasing property prices and there is a combination of things that this government is doing to try to ease the burden.

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (14:46): Supplementary question: as part of the series of things that the government is contemplating, has the government considered the ACT's approach to managing rent increases, which includes rent controls?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (14:47): I thank the honourable member for his question. I know the government has considered a whole range of things and the minister responsible in the other place, the Hon. Andrea Michaels, has put forward a whole range of solutions, as has Minister Champion, in terms of releasing housing prices. The government does not have any plans or policies to introduce rent capping though.

30 August 2023

PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT AND INFRASTRUCTURE (AFFORDABLE HOUSING) AMENDMENT BILL

Introduction and First Reading

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (17:35): obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to amend the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act, 2016. Read a first time.

Second Reading

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (17:36): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The Planning, Development and Infrastructure (Affordable Housing) Amendment Bill addresses a critical issue when it comes to new housing developments in our state, that is, the lack of affordable housing for people on low incomes. Housing is a fundamental human right, and everybody deserves a roof over their head and a place to call home. The Australian government's Institute of Health and Welfare states:

Access to good quality, affordable housing is fundamental to wellbeing. It can help reduce poverty and enhance equality of opportunity, social inclusion and mobility.

In 2021, Adelaide was ranked the 13^th most unaffordable metro area out of 92 major international housing markets, according to the Demographia International Housing Affordability report. This meant that Adelaide's housing was less affordable than Brisbane, Perth and even New York and Seattle.

According to the Beyond the Housing Crisis report from Believe Housing and UniSA in 2022, Adelaide has the tightest rental market anywhere in the country since 2017, with just 0.2 per cent of properties remaining vacant. This is an example of a serious lack of supply in our housing market and a lack of affordable housing options. I have spoken many times in this place about the housing crisis.

The Malinauskas government have acknowledged the lack of supply of affordable housing in their plan titled 'A better housing future', released in February this year, and I quote from that paper:

The government recognises that our—

that is, their, the government's—

plan provides a response to the current housing challenges, however more needs to be done to continue to support increased and well located affordable and appropriate housing in the state.

The bill the Greens are proposing here today—

There being a disturbance in the gallery:

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS: It sounds like it is very popular in the gallery as well.

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Simms, everybody in the gallery is in raptures.

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS: The bill the Greens are proposing here today aims to ensure that affordable housing is considered for all major developments, not just those within the affordable housing overlay.

Currently in South Australia, developments within the affordable housing overlay that are for 20 or more dwellings or residential allotments are required to include 15 per cent of affordable housing. Well, 15 per cent just simply is not enough, and that is why the Greens are proposing 30 per cent, that is, 10 per cent affordable to buy, 10 per cent affordable to rent and 10 per cent that is social housing.

When one considers the maps of the Affordable Housing Overlay available on PlanSA's Property and Planning Atlas, it is clear that many areas of future growth are not currently captured by the overlay. Members will be aware that earlier this year the Malinauskas government announced that new land would be released in Hackham, Dry Creek, Concordia and Sellicks Beach. Of course, we welcome that—recognising that we are in the middle of a housing crisis—but we must ensure that this is not a land release that only serves developers. We must ensure that we do not see Mount Barker 2.0 where there is a lack of appropriate planning. Part of that planning is to ensure that there is appropriate return to the community by way of increased social housing and increased affordable housing.

I recognise the government's commitment to including 15 per cent affordable housing in these new developments. We welcome that, but the reality is, it is simply not enough. What is in place to stop future governments from releasing land that sits outside of the overlay and not ensuring that there is a 15 per cent return? What the Greens are proposing is increasing that return and abolishing the applications simply to the overlay.

The Greens' bill is consistent with calls from advocacy groups such as National Shelter. They have been calling for a mandatory 30 per cent affordable housing in developments. These calls are supported by research undertaken by Shelter, who in 2019 found that 97 per cent of their survey respondents agreed that action was needed to address housing affordability, and that mandatory inclusionary zoning of the kind that the Greens are proposing was the preferred mechanism for that action.

The bill progresses those recommendations and establishes a minimum 30 per cent affordable housing requirement. For the current proposed developments earlier this year, this would double the number of affordable houses to be delivered: from just 3,405 under the Malinauskas government's plan, to 6,810 under the plan of the Greens. That would help another 3,000 households access housing that is affordable for them.

National Shelter has also asked participants of that survey to rate the types of housing options, with the result showing that affordable housing to purchase was the least favoured option, and that build-to-rent products should also be included. Their policy recommendation is that one-third of affordable homes be for rent, one-third for purchase and one-third be made available for social housing, and that is precisely what the Greens are proposing.

I note that two weeks ago the Malinauskas government released the discussion paper for the new Greater Adelaide Regional Plan. The paper claims that with current growth trends we will need an additional 300,000 homes over the next 30 years. Supply is important for ensuring that we address our state's housing crisis. But, as we have this discussion about development, we need to ensure that developers are providing an appropriate return to the community, and that means beefing up our investment in affordable housing and beefing up the investment in social housing.

The Greens' proposal for a minimum requirement of 10 per cent affordable to buy, 10 per cent affordable to own and 10 per cent social public housing is really worthwhile. I intend to write to the Minister for Planning, the Hon. Nick Champion MP, and of course his shadow, the Hon. Michelle Lensink, with whom I have had an opportunity to have a brief conversation in this regard. I intend to write to both of these members and urge them to back this sensible proposal from the Greens, because there is an opportunity for us to work together in the parliament to tackle the state's housing crisis head-on. With that, I conclude my remarks.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. I.K. Hunter.

28 June 2023

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. R.A. Simms:

That this council—

1. Acknowledges that housing is unaffordable for the most vulnerable South Australians with the 2023 Anglicare Rental Affordability Snapshot reporting for the weekend of 18 March 2023 that:

(a) zero rental properties were affordable and available for a single person receiving a JobSeeker, Youth Allowance, or a parenting payment;

(b) two rental properties were affordable and available for a couple receiving JobSeeker; and

(c) nine rental properties were affordable and available for a single person on the minimum wage;

2. Notes that the government has undertaken a review of the Residential Tenancies Act where:

(a) public consultation ran from 15 November 2022 to 16 December 2022;

(b) 5,565 survey responses were received; and

(c) 155 written submissions were received.

3. Calls on the Malinauskas government to publicly release the submissions to and the report of the review of the Residential Tenancies Act.

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS: I want to thank honourable members for their contributions: the Hon. Michelle Lensink, the Hon. Reggie Martin and the Hon. Frank Pangallo for that support as well. I want to reflect on the exciting revelation that we have heard, that the veil of secrecy will finally be lifted in relation to the government's residential tenancies review. It seems that the government's attitude on this has been, to quote Taylor Swift (who is in the news a bit today), 'Shake it off'—shake it off has been their approach every time I have raised questions. I knew they were trouble when they walked in, look what they made me do.

It is good that we finally have an outcome, and I am really pleased. It is disappointing, though, that it has taken a motion of this council to get the Malinauskas government to do something it should have done months ago, and that is actually to keep faith with the people who have engaged with the review of the Residential Tenancies Act and make the information publicly available. I think people have an expectation in our democracy that if you go to the trouble of making a submission, if you go to the trouble of providing feedback to the government, that should be publicly available.

I think people have an expectation that if a review has been conducted by an external body to government, that review should be publicly available, particularly when it informs legislation that comes to this parliament. I think it was very disappointing to see that the government did the review and they presented a bill to this chamber when no members of this chamber had had an opportunity to actually look at the review.

So a good outcome. I appreciate the government taking on board the feedback of the Greens, along with the opposition and the crossbench, and finally acquiescing to our very reasonable request.

Motion carried.

3 May 2023

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS. Can the Minister for Human Services advise:

1. What is the response time for outreach homelessness services under the SA Homelessness Alliance model?

2. What was the response time for outreach homelessness services before the SA Homelessness Alliance model was introduced in 2021?

3. Can the minister verify that the Hutt Street Centre had an outreach response time of four days before the SA Homelessness Alliance model was introduced?

4. Does the minister believe that the SA Homelessness Alliance model has been successful in improving outcomes for people experiencing homelessness?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries): The Minister for Human Services has advised:

Assertive outreach services under the SA Homelessness Alliance model are predominantly delivered across the City of Adelaide. Outreach services coordinated by the Toward Home Alliance (THA) in the City of Adelaide deliver up to three coordinated outreach shifts each day.

Toward Home: Wardli-Ana' is an Aboriginal-specific homelessness service that delivers a mid-morning outreach shift between 10.30am and 12pm five days a week, in coordination with the Department of Human Services.

The 'Toward Home: Resolve' team deliver a morning outreach shift between 7:30am and 9:30am, as well as an afternoon shift between 4:30pm and 6:30pm seven days a week every day of the year. After becoming a formal partner of the Toward Home Alliance in July 2022, Hutt Street Centre staff have been embedded within the 'Toward Home: Resolve' team.

Prior to each shift, the THA coordinates outreach activities using information and referrals from Street Connect (web-based rough sleeper reporting tool), Adelaide City Council, Department of Human Services and Homeless Connect (24/7 homelessness support phone service). The maximum response time to this information is 12 hours, with workers able to be despatched faster in response to high-risk situations, although response times prior to 2021 are not available.

Through the alliance model, several collaborative assertive outreach responses have been activated in communities outside the inner city, including Mt Barker, Holdfast Bay and Port Adelaide. These responses are important to try and better support people in-community experiencing homelessness, and to reduce the necessity for people to travel into the inner city to access services and supports.

Prior to becoming a formal partner of the THA in July 2022, Hutt Street Centre had not operated an outreach response since November 2017 although data on response times for this service are not known.

Staff across the alliances and the broader homelessness sector are passionate and caring people who deserve our support and thanks. Prior to the introduction of the alliance model in July 2021, the then Labor opposition raised serious concerns about the impact of the procurement process on the sector and the very short transition period that presented significant challenges for establishing service models and client handover. Despite these challenges, the alliances have performed well in the face increasing demands on homelessness services.

18 May 2023

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (15:58): I move:

That this council—

1. Notes that South Australia’s rental market is under extreme pressure with:

(a) a decrease in vacancy rates below 0.5 per cent;

(b) a rise in median rental prices of 12.9 per cent in the 12 months prior to January 2023; and

(c) 83,821 vacant homes in South Australia at last Census night.

2. Acknowledges that:

(a) short-term accommodation affects supply in the long-term rental market; and

(b) other jurisdictions such as London and Berlin have introduced regulations to limit short-term accommodation to a maximum of 90 nights per annum.

3. Calls on the Malinauskas government to regulate the short-term rental market by:

(a) capping the number of nights a property can be rented as short-term accommodation;

(b) capping the number of properties that can be rented for short-term rental accommodation; and

(c) incentivising the return of short-term accommodation to the long-term rental market.

The motion that I am moving today also relates to the rental crisis engulfing our state, but in particular it relates to the need to regulate the short-term rental market. In particular, it calls on the Malinauskas government to cap the number of nights a property can be rented as short-term accommodation. It calls for a cap on the number of properties that can be rented for short-term accommodation, and it also calls for the government to look at incentivising the return of short-term accommodation to the long-term rental market.

In making the case for action, I want to highlight to this chamber some of the key statistics. The waitlist for social housing now in South Australia has grown to more than 17,000 people. The availability of long-term rental accommodation continues to diminish. In fact, according to the latest figures from property research firm CoreLogic—and these were released back in January; I think it has actually got worse since then—the rental vacancy rate in Adelaide has dropped to just 0.4 per cent.

There are high rates of rental stress. On Census night, 30.5 per cent of all renter households, or 58,177 renter households in South Australia, were paying more than 30 per cent of their household income on rent. Rent prices are spiralling out of control, and what is the Malinauskas government doing?

Access to safe and secure housing is one of our most basic human rights, yet here in South Australia we have people sleeping in cars, tents and on the street because of a lack of available rental accommodation. This is particularly an issue in regional South Australia where we have some properties that are sitting vacant for six months of the year while we have people in those communities sleeping in tents.

A few years ago now, when I first started in this role, I travelled to Port Lincoln and met with a number of community groups. One of the issues that they are confronting at the moment is the lack of affordable rental accommodation in that community. The cause of that was the COVID-19 pandemic initially because during that time of course there was not interstate or overseas travel. A number of South Australians elected to travel intrastate—that is, to engage in travel from, say, Adelaide over to Port Lincoln or other regional centres—and therefore a number of landlords found it more desirable to move their accommodation from the long-term rental market into the short-stay market as they could make a lot more money.

That has resulted in a shortage of affordable rental accommodation in those regions, and it is contributing to the turbocharging of the market that we are seeing at the moment. That is why the Greens are suggesting that there should be a cap on the number of nights that a property is on Airbnb. We are suggesting that there be some incentives put on the table as part of the Malinauskas government's second budget to encourage those who own Airbnbs to move those into the long-term market. That would be a really good outcome.

Another issue I should highlight that the Greens have been looking at is the need to target vacant dwellings. On Census night back in 2021, there were 83,821 vacant homes in South Australia. Some people will say, 'Look, a lot of those might be that you were staying with a friend, or visiting mum and dad or whatever,' and that may well be the case, but even if only half of those properties were vacant on Census night, that is a lot of vacant property in our state, particularly when we consider we have almost 20,000 people on the social housing waitlist, not to mention the thousands of South Australians who are now experiencing housing stress and cannot afford a place to live or a place to rent.

In terms of looking at how to regulate this area, I would encourage the Malinauskas government to look at Berlin. Back in 2016, they implemented some of the world's strictest laws for vacation rentals. It prohibited homesharing, except for people wanting to rent out extra rooms or who received one of a small number of government permits. Official reports by the end of 2017 noted that they had returned about 4,000 apartments to the long-term rental market and collected $3.2 million in fines.

Amsterdam has also looked at this. They have set limits of 30 nights per year that a home can be booked out on Airbnb. Beyond this time, planning permission is needed to change the use of the property. This measure resulted in 80 per cent of properties previously listed on Airbnb being returned to the long-term rental market. New Orleans has zoning laws that restrict holiday rentals to certain locations. Scotland has recently introduced similar laws requiring permission for short-term lets in certain planning control areas.

Let's also not forget that a lot of these properties are being charged a residential rate by their councils, yet they are operating potentially a private business, so there is an area for further regulation. That is why the Greens are calling on the Malinauskas government to regulate the short-term rental market in South Australia by capping the number of nights a property can be rented as short-term accommodation, capping the number of properties that can be rented for short-term rental accommodation, and incentivising the owners of those properties to return them to the long-term market.

I thank you for your indulgence, Mr President. That is all from me on the rental market for today. I will be revisiting the issue when parliament resumes, and I know everybody will be engaging in that debate.

Debate adjourned on motion of L.A. Henderson.

18 May 2023

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (15:52): I move:

That this council—

1. Acknowledges that housing is unaffordable for the most vulnerable South Australians with the 2023 Anglicare Rental Affordability Snapshot reporting for the weekend of 18 March 2023 that:

(a) zero rental properties were affordable and available for a single person receiving a Jobseeker, Youth Allowance, or a parenting payment;

(b) two rental properties were affordable and available for a couple receiving Jobseeker; and

(c) nine rental properties were affordable and available for a single person on the minimum wage.

2. Notes that the government has undertaken a review of the Residential Tenancies Act where:

(a) public consultation ran from 15 November 2022 to 16 December 2022;

(b) 5,565 survey responses were received; and

(c) 155 written submissions were received.

3. Calls on the Malinauskas government to publicly release the submissions to and the report of the review of the Residential Tenancies Act.

The motion that I am proposing today is a simple one. It notes some of the latest concerning data relating to the housing crisis but it also calls on the Malinauskas government to release all of the submissions received as part of its review of the Residential Tenancies Act and to release the findings of the review that the government has conducted.

The government opened up public consultation in November and December of last year and it is very curious to me that the government would conduct a review, invite members of the community to participate and then have those submissions just disappear into the ether somewhere. The government, I understand, has received more than 5,000 responses on the YourSAy website and over 150 written submissions. Surely those submissions should be published on the government's website so that members of the community could access them.

It is interesting to observe that during a debate the other day there was some discussion in this place about submissions, and the Hon. Clare Scriven referenced submissions relating to the national inquiry into banking. The minister would not be able to make a similar rhetorical comment in relation to submissions on the government's inquiry into residential tenancies because none of the submissions have been published on the website. It is not clear who actually has made a submission. The Greens made a submission outlining some of our concerns and the issues that we wanted to see addressed as part of this review of the Residential Tenancies Act, but it is not clear to me who else is engaged with the process.

The other important point to make here is that the government requested that the Commissioner for Consumer and Business Services, Dini Soulio, conduct this review. They have concluded the review. I am assuming they have made recommendations to the government. What are those recommendations? We do not know. What we have seen is a bill dealing with the rental crisis that has been proposed. It has passed the House of Assembly and it is coming to this place fairly soon. But that bill does not go far enough in terms of dealing with the scale of the rental crisis that we confront.

The government's bill looks at banning rent bidding, but only partially banning rent bidding. What the government is proposing is that landlords will not be able to advertise a property for rent within a range, but if a prospective tenant goes to the real estate agent and says, 'I am going to offer more than the asking price', that is okay. That does not seem to me to be a satisfactory approach.

I would like to know what submissions advocated such a feeble approach to such a complex issue, and I would also like to see what level of community support there is for dealing with the other issues in the rental market; that is, the need to end no-cause evictions, the need to legislate in favour of renting with pets, and the need to crackdown on some of the unfair practices that have been exposed within the real estate industry, things like lack of disclosure of conflict of interest.

Has there been advocacy around the need for an independent body to advocate for tenants? These are all issues that the Greens intend to explore when the government's bill comes before this place, but I think it would be very useful if the government were to heed the call of the Greens, release the report, the findings of this review, along with the submissions, so that all members of parliament, and indeed the broader community, have the benefit of access to this information. With that, I conclude my remarks.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. L.A. Henderson.

17 May 2023

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (14:58): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before addressing a question without notice to the Minister for Regional Development on the topic of regional housing.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS: This morning, The Advertiser reported that regional SA has the lowest vacancy rate for rental properties in the country. The figure shows that the number of rentals listed on realestate.com.au in regional South Australia has dropped by 60 per cent since 2020. Anne Flaherty from PropTrack Market Insights attributes the problem to a lack of supply but also the return of long-term rentals to short-term holiday rentals after the lifting of pandemic tourism restrictions.

Data from PropTrack also shows that regional renters aged 15 to 24 and those over 65 years of age contribute to a larger share of their income towards rent, but are also more likely than other age groups to reside in regions where rent prices are increasingly higher than the national average. My question to the minister therefore is: other than simply making a submission, what real action has the minister taken to advocate for regional renters who are adversely impacted by the housing crisis; and does the minister recognise the need for regulation of short-term holiday rentals such as Airbnbs?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (15:00): I thank the honourable member for his question, although it does surprise me a little that he is frequently mentioning submissions when he didn't bother to put in a submission to the banking inquiry federally, just by all of his protestations here.

The Hon. R.A. Simms: I made one to the residential tenancies.

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: Yes, the government did put in a submission, as I mentioned yesterday—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: —but the opposition didn't, and the South Australian Greens didn't. However, that is another matter.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: The question in regard to regional housing is an important one, and I think it is something that we have discussed a number of times in this chamber, and certainly it is something that is raised with me at almost every forum or event that I attend in regional areas, which, of course, are very, very many. This government has done a number of things in terms of addressing the housing crisis, both here in metropolitan Adelaide but of course my particular discussions around it are more focused on regional housing.

I refer members to my previous answers on this topic in terms of what this government is doing, including the establishment of the Office for Regional Housing, so that we can look at innovative solutions to the crisis. Members who don't live regionally might not necessarily appreciate how the one-size-fits-all approach doesn't work in regional areas. It's not the same as simply being able to, for example, entice a developer to set up in an area.

There are a number of other issues that impact. For example, the regional development associations have been very active in looking at different ways that the housing crisis can be addressed in different regional areas, and I am certainly encouraging them to engage with the Office for Regional Housing so that those sorts of opportunities and different ideas and innovative solutions can be fully explored.

In terms of regulation for short-term accommodation such as Airbnb, it is an interesting topic that does come up quite frequently, and there are contrasting views. I think a lot of us could certainly see the benefits to freeing up for longer term accommodation that more regulation of Airbnb might provide.

On the other hand, people who own properties expect to be able to use those properties in the way that they wish. Indeed, a number of people, as I understand it, who do utilise their properties for Airbnb often do so for short bursts in between when they or their family members are staying in the properties themselves. Certainly that is the experience in my local township in Port MacDonnell of people who I am familiar with on a personal basis.

I think it is an important discussion to have. It's a discussion that might be had across a number of portfolios, impacting as it does on tourism, on workforce, on long-term rental, on cost of living, so I thank the member for raising the issue again in this chamber, as well as it being raised by others in a number of other forums. I am sure it is something that will continue to develop and be a topic of discussion.

18 May 2023

The SA Government must publicly release the submissions received and the report on its review of the Residential Tenancies Act, say the Greens.

The Greens will today move a motion in the Upper House calling on the Government to release the outcome of the public consultation and review of the Residential Tenancies Act that occurred last year.

“As part of its review the Government received more than 5000 survey responses and over 150 written submissions, yet none of these or the findings of the review have been made public,” said Greens Housing Spokesperson, Robert Simms MLC.

“The Government has introduced a bill to reform aspects of the Residential Tenancies Act into the parliament for consideration, yet MPs haven’t even had the benefit of seeing the submissions that informed the bill or any report on the review’s findings.”

“The Greens know that the Government’s bill to partially ban rent bidding is well short of what’s required to fix the rental crisis. The Government has a responsibility to be transparent about the feedback it received so that the parliament can get a more accurate sense of community sentiment and the scale of the rental crisis. Surely this is the least that those South Australians who took the time to make a submission can expect,” said Mr Simms.