In the Victorian political system, the State Minister for Housing and Building is a State Government cabinet position responsible for Housing. The Minister for Housing and Building is responsible for the Office of Housing (formerly the Victorian Housing Commission); and is one of six state ministers responsible for the Victorian Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH).
The Housing Commission of Victoria was established in 1938.THE RELUCTANT LANDLORDS? A History Of Public Housing In Australia, David Hayward Its stated purpose of improving existing housing and to provide adequate housing for people of limited means (public housing).Australian Science at Work Register, The University of Melbourne eScholarship Research Centre, AustehcWeb, 2000–2007 The Commission ceased to exist in 1984, as it became the Office of Housing. Housing Commission remains the common colloquial term for public housing estates and developments in Victoria, particularly the inner city tower estates built in the late 1950s and 1960s by Liberal State Governments.
The Housing Commission towers were planned as a major capital work solution to urban ghettoisation. These 20-storey towers loom over many of the inner suburbs in Melbourne and are usually built in 2–6 tower configurations. Many blocks of occupied terrace and worker cottage style housing were cleared and towers of 10 apartments a floor built, surrounded by gardens and car parks. The future high property value of the former types of housing and the gentrification of inner urban areas was not foreseen. Opponents of these projects claimed that the towers were merely turning the slums upright. One of the more vocal anti-tower campaigners in the 1960s, Barry Pullen, later became a Minister for Housing in the Cain Labor Government. Crime and substance abuse problems on the estates have indeed fluctuated to high levels over the years, as different governments apply policies to renew the residential environments.
The Victorian Minister for Housing was at the centre of the Victorian land scandals of 1973–82.Wayward governance – illegality and its control in the public sector, P N Grabosky, Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra, 1989.
The Victorian Minister for Housing and Building is also responsible for homelessness and the Residential Tenancies Act (the laws governing domestic renting in Victoria).A list of Victorian legislation covered by the Minister of Housing's portfolio Today the Office of Housing is Victoria's largest landlord, and is responsible for around 73,000 properties (23,000+ in regional Victorian towns and rural communities, 7,000+ inner city high-rise flats, 40,000+ houses, units and flats across suburban Melbourne, 1,700+ rooming house rooms and 1,800 moveable units).
Victorian State Ministers for Housing and Building
OrderMinisterParty affiliationMinisterial titleTerm startTerm endTime in officeNotes 1 Sir William Haworth Liberal Minister of Housing 2 October 1945 21 November 1945 2 Bill Barry Labor 21 November 1945 20 November 1947 3 Sir Arthur Warner Liberal Country Minister in Charge of Housing 20 November 1947 27 June 1950 4 Ivan Swinburne Country 27 June 1950 28 October 1952 5 William Dawnay-Mould Liberal Country 28 October 1952 31 October 1952 (4) Ivan Swinburne Country 1 October 1952 17 December 1952 6 Tom Hayes Labor 17 December 1952 31 March 1955 7 John Sheehan 31 March 1955 7 June 1955 8 Sir Thomas Maltby Liberal Country Minister of Housing 7 June 1955 8 June 1955 9 Sir Horace Petty Liberal 8 June 1955 26 July 1961 10 Lindsay Thompson 26 July 1961 9 May 1967 11 Edward Meagher 9 May 1967 23 August 1972 12 Vance Dickie 23 August 1972 31 March 1976 13 Geoff Hayes 31 March 1976 16 May 1979 14 Brian Dixon 16 May 1979 3 February 1981 15 Jeff Kennett 3 February 1981 8 April 1982 16 Ian Cathie Labor 8 April 1982 2 May 1985 17 Frank Wilkes Minister for Housing 2 May 1985 14 December 1987 18 Bunna Walsh Minister for Housing and Construction 14 December 1987 13 October 1988 19 Barry Pullen 13 October 1988 10 August 1990 20 Tony Sheehan 10 August 1990 18 January 1991 21 Andrew McCutcheon Minister for Planning and Housing 18 January 1991 6 October 1992 22 Rob Knowles Liberal Minister for Housing 6 October 1992 3 April 1996 23 Ann Henderson 3 April 1996 20 October 1999 24 Bronwyn Pike Labor 20 October 1999 5 December 2002 25 Candy Broad 5 December 2002 1 December 2006 26 Richard Wynne 1 December 2006 2 December 2010 27 Wendy Lovell Liberal 2 December 2010 4 December 2014 28 Martin Foley LaborMinister for Housing, Disability and Ageing 4 December 2014 29 November 2018 (26) Richard WynneMinister for Housing 29 November 2018 27 June 2022 29 Danny Pearson 27 June 2022 5 December 2022 30 Colin Brooks 5 December 2022 2 October 2023 31 Harriet ShingMinister for Housing and Building 2 October 2023 15 April 2026 32 Nick Staikos 15 April 2026 Incumbent
See also Public housing in Australia Minister for Housing (Australia) Minister for Housing (New South Wales) Minister for Housing (Western Australia)
References
External links Victorian Office of Housing website Victorian Department of Human Services website – As of 1 January 2015, this department is part of the new Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS). Department of Health & Human Services website Image of Housing Commission Victoria concrete pre-fabrication factory (1947)