The Minister for Housing, Nick Champion has showed just how out of touch he is with South Australia’s housing crisis, getting his new King William Street ‘palace’ upgraded on the taxpayer dime, while thousands languish on the public housing waitlist.
Despite the building being upgraded in 2019, $1.4 million was allocated for ‘fit-out works’ at the Level 13, 1 King William Street office in the 2025-26 State Budget and the Opposition is calling on the Government to explain exactly what that money is being used for and why it’s needed.
In addition to the office upgrades, the Opposition has also learnt that on 1 July, Department of Housing and Urban Development staff took part in a $13,000, taxpayer funded workshop featuring customised Lego, a photo booth, and wait staff - spending hours ‘solving the housing puzzle’.
Shadow Minister for Housing, Michelle Lensink said the workshop and the significant amount of money allocated for office upgrades speaks to a Government with completely warped priorities.
“While thousands of people languish on the public housing waitlist, the Minister is paying for his pad to be upgraded using taxpayer dollars and sending staff to lavish workshops instead of addressing the housing crisis,” Ms Lensink said.
“The Minister needs to front up and explain to the people of South Australia exactly what this $13,000 workshop achieved and why a $1.4 million office upgrade is warranted.”
While Minister Champion will benefit from the taxpayer-funded office renovation, latest data paints a stark contrast for others – revealing that some public housing tenants are waiting up to 1,000 days for maintenance, with nearly 50 per cent of work orders overdue in occupied homes and 75 per cent delayed in vacant properties
“It’s despicable that thousands of people are waiting months, and in some cases years, for basic maintenance to be done at their public housing properties - yet the Government can justify spending $1.4 million on office ‘fit-out works’,” Ms Lensink said.
“People deserve maintenance work to be actioned in a timely matter, but it doesn’t appear to be a priority for this Government, and I think South Australians expect much better.”
BACKGROUND:
As of 30 April 2025, there were:
- 3,783 people on the public housing waitlist classified as Category 1.
- 4,141 people on the public housing waitlist classified as Category 2.
- 7,585 people on the public housing waitlist classified as Category 3.
As of 31 May 2025, there were:
- 249 offerable vacant public housing properties.
- 1,447 non-offerable vacant public housing properties awaiting maintenance or redevelopment.
