Another area that the inquiry aims to investigate is the measures used to improve tenancy management services. The inquiry follows a spate of power outages in one of the city’s central social housing developments – the Turanga Building in Waterloo.
Residents in the tower experienced a series of power cuts over three separate days: May 17, June 1 and June 8, with the longest one lasting upwards of 18 hours. The power outages led to a lack of functioning toilet facilities for residents. Additionally there was no light or lift access or running water during this time. Two tenants were taken to hospital after the cuts restricted power to their respiratory equipment.
Following the power cuts, a letter written by the Waterloo Neighbourhood Advisory Board was sent to Minister Gabrielle Upton on June 17. The letter, which outlined the effects of the power cuts on social housing residents, was also sent to Housing NSW (HNSW) and the NSW Land and Housing Corporation (NSW LHC).
To date there has been no response or comment from Minister Upton on the issue, and the Waterloo Neighbourhood Advisory Board has received no reply to its letter.
Ross Smith, a representative for the Board, has said that “the silence from the Minister, her office, Housing NSW and NSW Land and Housing Corporation has been absolutely total from this end”.
“The question of whether there was a current Fire Safety Certificate for the Turanga Building and the other five high-rise multiple occupancy buildings in Waterloo owned by NSW LHC, and, if so, who signed off on them, was put to the Minister, HNSW and NSW LHC. This issue still has not been acknowledged, much less answered,” he said.
The response from various NSW government factions on the issue was limited until the inquiry launch on July 8. In a statement announcing the inquiry, Jonathon O’Dea MP, Chair of NSW Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, said that the issue is of importance to both social housing tenants and the broader community as “social housing stakeholders.”
