Candy Broad - Second Term (2002-2006)

Second Term (2002-2006)

Due to being elected in a by-election, Broad had to face re-election at the November 2002 state election, but was easily re-elected. After the election, Premier Bracks oversaw a major reshuffle of the ministry, and Broad was moved to the higher-profile portfolios of Local Government and Housing, at the expense of Bob Cameron, who was demoted to Agriculture. These new portfolios left Broad responsible for the issues of public housing, homelessness and local councils in general, as well as overseeing the November 2004 council elections.

Broad was responsible for implementing a controversial $70 million proposal to encourage welfare groups and councils to form not-for-profit housing associations as a means of dealing with public housing. Though Broad had not been involved in the plan's conception, as it had been devised by her predecessor as Minister for Housing, she had to deal with the mixed reactions the proposal received. While it was commended by some, such as the Salvation Army, others, such as the Brotherhood of St Laurence worried that it gave them little protection if an association ran into financial trouble.

Under Broad, several public housing estates underwent major renovations - most notably in the notorious Kensington area of Melbourne and in Wendouree West, Ballarat. A number of smaller residential facilities were also built, mostly in regional areas. However, she came under fire from several organisations representing public tenants for agreeing to raise rent charges across the state, as well as to sell off significant open space adjacent to an estate in Port Melbourne.

Broad's tenure as Minister for Housing also included the unveiling of the Youth Homeless Action Plan. This both attempted to determine major causes of homelessness and provided a number of potential means for dealing with the problem, such as family mediation and further attempts at education. It resulted in an influx of $8.8 million into relevant programs, as well as a $298,000 grant to the Melbourne Citymission. In addition, she oversaw the introduction of a $200,000 plan to prevent homeless in the regional area of Loddon Mallee, and opened a series of small accommodation centres for the homeless in both Melbourne and a number of regional centres.

In comparison to the many developments under the housing portfolio, Broad's term as Minister for Local Government has been comparatively uneventful. As the responsible minister for the November 2004 council elections, she came under some fire for not intervening in the City of Melbourne lord mayoral race, which had over 100 candidates vying for two positions, resulting in widespread allegations of dummy candidates. However, she claimed some vindication when the result was widely uncontroversial, seeing the re-election of incumbent Lord Mayor of Melbourne John So.