The Canberra Liberals will call on the Labor-Greens Government to immediately address the backlog of public housing repairs, where the health and safety of tenants is at risk.

Shadow Minister for Housing, Mark Parton, will put forward a motion in the Legislative Assembly today, calling for all significant public housing maintenance requests, including those for health and safety defects to be resolved by August 31, 2021.

Mr Parton said the government must commit to a program to determine the work required to fix all properties that are in breach or below health and safety standards.

“Complaints about public housing maintenance have reached unacceptable levels,” said Mr Parton.

“There are a number of tenants being ignored when reaching out for assistance and it is clear this government simply doesn’t care.

“Public housing tenants are pleading for my help to fix clear and obvious risks to their health and safety. I have seen instances of collapsed ceilings, broken locks and mould infestations that have forced people to move out.

“Many public housing residents are stressed due to poor living conditions and hold fears for their safety, particularly those living in dangerous or intimidating neighbourhoods.

“The government must act now. They cannot blame their contractor and hide behind commercial arrangements – they have the power to fix this, and they should,” Mr Parton concluded.