Question Time - Short-Stay Accommodation Data
Ms BURNET question to MINISTER for HOUSING and PLANNING, Mr VINCENT
[10.18 a.m.]
On Tuesday, I asked what data your government collected to understand the impact of short‑stay accommodation on the housing market and the response was tabled late last night. It said that the available data does not support a definitive assessment of short‑stay's impacts on house prices, rents, or housing affordability, and that CBOS cannot currently identify how many properties have moved from the long‑term rental market into short‑term accommodation—a crucial issue in our rental crisis. Minister, if your government accepts that the data it currently collects does not assist in understanding the impact of short‑stay on the housing market, will you respect the call from the House yesterday and ensure an urgent review of the Short Stay Accommodation Act 2019 and the impact of short‑stay on the housing market?
ANSWER
I thank the member for the question and understand your passion and consistency in this area. It's certainly something that has been on everybody's mind lately, especially in the upper House, with the levy debate going through there. I must admit that I have not read that full briefing yet because of taking legislation through on other things in the upper House yesterday, so I do apologise for that. However, it has been suggested that the act is something that needs to be looked at and worked through again.
I have been reading a lot of different things from every media source that I can that comes up on short‑stay, and nobody seems to have the perfect answer to the growth in that area. It is a fantastic thing that we are bringing tourists into Tasmania and using a different form of accommodation and that that is putting money into the pockets of a lot of people that rent out their rooms or their houses, and that's a marvellous thing to compliment the unique nature of stays in Tasmania. I recognise the pressures that are there and your passion for this area and I am happy to have discussions that will find a sensible way forward. We do not want to stop people doing what they need to do with their house. We do not want to stop people renting out rooms and the passion of their stays, in country areas and city areas having different sort of environments for us all here in Tasmania to enjoy the beautiful state, but we do have to find a balance. We do have to find sensible ways through the housing situation, whether it's short‑stay, whether it's rentals, whether it's homelessness, whether it's women's shelters or whether it's first home buyers having the passion to build their own home or buy their own home and understand that it's one of the most fulfilling moments of your life, when you can have your own home.
I do understand the pressures. I'm happy to talk to you further about looking at the act and continue the discussion. Thank you.
Supplementary Question
Ms BURNET - The minister in his answer talked about tourists and how it's important to make sure that they can be looked after. The review of the act isn't about that. My question from that is: doesn't everybody deserve a roof over their head?
Mr VINCENT - Thank you for the supplementary and, at 66 years of age in another couple of months, I have never met anybody who doesn't deserve a roof over their head. That is where my passion is in this. It has been since I started my apprenticeship in 1975 and it will continue to be putting as many roofs over people's heads as I possibly can in my role.