2026-03-04
Quotes attributed to Shane Rattenbury, Leader of the ACT Greens:
“Today’s report from the ACT Ombudsman pulls back the curtain on how public housing tenants are being treated, and it’s not good enough.
“For too long, serious maintenance failures have been allowed to persist while the government looks the other way instead of stepping up to meet basic responsibilities.
“It is hard to avoid the conclusion that public housing tenants are being treated as second-class citizens by this government. Urgent repairs are dragging on for months. Basic maintenance is falling through the cracks. And nothing is being done about it.
“If a private landlord behaved this way, they would quite rightly find themselves before ACAT. The difference is that many public housing tenants, quite fairly, don’t have the time, resources or confidence to navigate this complex complaints processes.
“The government knows this, and the result is a system where unacceptable standards are tolerated because the people affected are least able to fight back.
“The report outlines a shocking example of a tenant left without a proper roof for more than a year. That is not a minor oversight, it is a profound failure. It speaks to years of underinvestment and a culture that has not treated public housing with seriousness.
“The Greens will be scrutinising the government’s response closely. What we need now isn’t spin, it’s a shift in attitude and investment in new and existing public homes.
“Public housing is not a charity or an afterthought. It is an essential public service, and it should be delivered to the highest standard, as any Canberran has a right to expect.