Mr. Ray Fanning:

Senator Aideen Hayden picked up on this, and everything Deputy Boyd Barrett has said is 100% correct. He is speaking to the converted here and he has picked up on some of the smaller stumbling blocks. I mentioned issues such as the subordination of mortgages and setting a floor value for rent that would allow us remove obstacles to allow us achieve some success in the private finance area.

The mortgage-to-rent scheme has excellent merit in that it can keep people in their current homes. However, it will not provide even one additional home for all those on the housing lists. Deputy Doherty asked why it takes so long to set up these schemes. It is because there are four parties involved, the home owner, the financial institution, the housing agency and the AHB, which is expected to come in at the end and provide finance. Sometimes this is where the process can stall. Where does the AHB get the finance if everybody is looking for a debenture over everything, not just the properties?

It is all the assets and the balance sheet. If that is locked down with one organisation, one is prevented from borrowing anywhere else. These are the small little things but we have gone from mad lending sprees to a complete belt and braces approach where nobody is prepared to move.