Smithson: Govt’s blue-chip Housing Trust headache
The once-sleeping giant of South Australia’s housing crisis is looming as a possible threat to Labor’s re-election in Adelaide’s most inner suburbs.
Housing Trust tenancy, sadly involving those with mental health issues or anti-social behaviour, is a problem which can no longer be swept under the mat.
The short answer is there is no solution under current tenancy rules, and the government knows it.
Navigating a way through the mess is becoming a bigger problem as the March 2026 state election rapidly looms and the Liberal Party can see this low hanging, public-outrage fruit is ripe for the picking.
Following a tragic stabbing death in Gilberton almost a month ago, momentum has been snowballing with 80 concerned people attending a community meeting last week organised by the local Liberal candidate for Adelaide, Julian Amato.
In days gone by local attitudes on a cold winter’s night to such an event may have been “yeah, nah” – but not anymore.
The Bentzen Court incident has been the lightening rod for a call to action and Labor must be mindful of not being caught asleep at the wheel.
Disturbances at public housing blocks have been treated with backburner urgency in the past, but now the heat is on, as it should be.
Local Labor MP Lucy Hood and her government have been keen to publicise the temporary measures put in place such as 24/7 security, yard clean ups and more inspections but they alone won’t solve the core problem.
My understanding is that as recently as last weekend, police were called there to deal with disturbances on both Friday and Sunday nights, as well as Monday morning.
At least one of the calls was from concerned security staff at the facility.
The 9pm callout on Sunday night was followed by more yelling which woke neighbours at 11pm and then again on Monday morning.
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Police must be as frustrated as surrounding residents.
When these problems occur it’s a drain on their limited resources and there seems to be little respite in the immediate future.
The Liberals took the initiative to investigate just how rife the problem has become elsewhere.
A Freedom of Information inquiry revealed there have been 188 police callouts to Elliot Lodge, Gilberton’s other notorious trouble spot, over just 232 days.
That’s an average of five calls per week.
Housing Minister Nick Champion agrees there is a concern surrounding police resources.
“Many of those callouts are just a disturbance or yelling,” he said.
“By the time police get there the problem has passed.
“We’ve got to have a clear look at things especially the allocation to these particular walk-up flats because they’re hard to tenant.”
Spare a thought for Housing Trust staff who cop it from both ends of the spectrum.
They’re not there to police bad behaviour, provide mental health counselling or directly evict troublemakers.
The Trust is purely a landlord, which for decades dealt with nice people who required public housing and wanted to live in a prescribed, neighbourly cohort.
That all changed when these 1950s-style dwellings also became a place of first resort for criminals who’d served their prison time, or high-risk drug addicts who had nowhere else to live.
Most tenants remain nice, law-abiding citizens who’re crammed in with undesirables who simply shouldn’t be there for the good of themselves and others.
Sadly, for all concerned there seems to be a well-worn path between Bentzen Court and Elliot Lodge as residents of both appear to be well known to each other.
I’m told that if they know Trust inspectors are on their way for a routine check, they’re seen heading to the other facility for refuge.
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The current three-strikes policy means the Housing Trust, just like any other landlord, issues warnings and after the third can refer the matter to the SA Civil and Administrative Tribunal to adjudicate on possible eviction.
The Minister freely admits that SACAT’s often reluctant to evict because of the nature and complexities of the tenants.
After my last InDaily column on this matter, I promised the Minister that I would be checking the progress of how he planned to resolve the Bentzen Court problem.
He told me this week that many things have occurred.
“We’re in the process of getting rid of some of the old laundries which are on-site and not often used as laundries,” he said.
He referred to their other use as a place for squatters.
When I enquired whether they were also havens for drug dealing, he confirmed they were used for criminal activities.
“Yes, we’re getting rid of those laundries and we’re looking at options for all these sites,” he said.
But it all comes down to the size of the outdated apartments.
“We’re currently examining whether you can put a European laundry in, that’s where the washer and dryer are in the kitchen,” Mr Champion explained.
“Other options include a dedicated laundry which is lockable and has security to it.
“Or have a laundry service come in every week or so.”
But that’s where the ‘pie in the sky’ factor comes into play.
Who’s going to pay for the retrofit of appliances and plumbing into ageing Besser block apartments?
And will the troublemakers by night, have their dirty washing neatly packed and ready for collection first thing on a Monday morning?
I sincerely doubt that any of these proposals will see the light of day.
So, what’s next, just bulldoze the entire block and hand it over to private developers?
The Labor government wouldn’t want this issue to keep festering all the way to March, or they might find their jewel in the crown political seat of Adelaide is not as shiny as it once was.
Mike Smithson is weekend presenter and political analyst for 7News.
