“Gran talked in such a way, chokes and all, that it was clear she was honest, she was sincere, she was not exaggerating. And like in the tearjerker movies, she triumphed.” HUGH SELBY has some good news in the public housing despair of little Dion and his gran. 

I can’t imagine a liveable world without flowers. Florists with their artistry leave their mark upon so many of our life events, from birth to death and everything in-between.

This week a new florist has opened in the Dickson shops, taking the space deserted by the NAB several years ago and forlorn ever since. There is so much colour and energy about that shop. Fingers crossed that they do well.

It was four hands of fingers crossed when little Dion’s gran and I took the bus to Civic this week to go to the  ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal (ACAT), down near the Civic pool and the pedestrian bridge that can take us all into this year’s bustling Floriade with colour, colour everywhere.

Readers will remember three-year-old Dion and his gran. CityNews has run a series of articles about their plight.

Helped by Canberra Community Law, gran had prepared the paperwork about all the problems with her Housing ACT property.

She had set out not only what were the many defects in her home, but also how those defects had adversely affected their lives as tenants.

A message from Housing ACT a week ago gave no signs of hope. If anything, it seemed to gran that the tribunal pre-hearing conference was going to be a nasty waste of time.

The conference

The conference was run by a lawyer, the tribunal member, who sat at the narrow end of a shoe-box shaped table. I’ll use a fictional name for him, John.

Gran, her support person from ADACAS and I were on one long side, with a representative from Housing ACT and their lawyer on the other. 

John knew how to manage all those there. He explained the conference process and got each of us to say who we were.

Although he and both sides had all the paperwork he invited gran to tell her story.

There are moments in life when the unexpected creates a memorable shift in perception. Recall those moments in film when someone acts with unforeseen courage and strength. It is as much a surprise for the character as it is for the audience. The bottom line is that, against the odds, good triumphs.

That’s what happened in that conference. Gran spoke about the house problems, the garden problems, how difficult it was to toilet train a small boy when taking him to the toilet needed an umbrella, why her son had to find somewhere else to live because little Dion’s room was mould infested and the window couldn’t open, so Dion took her son’s room. She talked about why she couldn’t let Dion out in the garden because of the druggie needles.

Gran talked. She talked in such a way, chokes and all, that it was clear that she was honest, she was sincere, she was not exaggerating. 

And like in the tearjerker movies, she triumphed.

I have no clue as to what, if any, instructions the two young women from Housing ACT were given by their superiors. But I do know that they treated gran with respect, that they laid out a proper solution to all the problems that have continued for over a year, that they patiently explained and re-explained each part of that solution so that gran could fully understand it.

They could not have been more professional.

Tribunal member John played the critical part of moving things along, and ensuring that the orders he then made to resolve the dispute were clear, effective, and represented what the parties had agreed.

It took about one hour to resolve issues that have festered for more than a year. 

Gran and little Dion’s needs have been respected, as have the shortfalls in their housing this past year. The rent has been properly reduced to compensate for those shortfalls. They are going to be offered another home.

Aftermath

Housing ACT does not have enough accommodation for those who are entitled to it. It does not have sufficient tradies to repair and maintain its properties in a timely manner.

If gran and little Dion’s experience is typical then its management is crisis driven: keep making well-meant but impossible promises until that bluff is called.

This problem, especially the scale of it, lies with Life Leader Andrew’s priorities. I think he prefers shiny, red toys to giving shelter.

Gran’s face bloomed on the bus home, the stress melting, the colours emerging. Next day she was taking bursting flowers, and her excitement, to Canberra Community Law, to give them a well-deserved thank you.

Former barrister Hugh Selby is a CityNews columnist, principally focused on legal affairs. His free podcasts on “Witness Essentials” and “Advocacy in court: preparation and performance” can be heard on the best known podcast sites.

Little Dion wants Uncle Andrew and Aunt Yvette to look at his place