Shadow Minister for Housing Chris Hartcher has queried the competence, and limited experience, of new Housing Minister David Borger.

“While everyone knows Mr Borger was chosen strictly on factional lines without regard to merit, what is just as worrying is his lack of Parliamentary experience,” Mr Hartcher said.

“This would be of concern to the 340,000 people in Department of Housing accommodation given it is Mr Borger who will speak on their behalf in an advocacy role in NSW Parliament,” he said.

“Apart from a handful of ‘Dorothy Dixers’ to Ministers at question time and some localised Private Members Statements, Mr Borger has only bothered to speak four times on legislation before the Parliament in the last 16 months.

“Aside from some references to housing in his own electorate in his maiden speech, he has made only one other reference to housing, and that was a politically inspired address to attack the Howard Government before the last Federal Election.

“With Mr Borger now promoted to Housing Minister those in public housing had better brace themselves for some more of Mr Borger’s wacky ideas. While Mayor on Parramatta Council from 2005/06 he suggested the ‘Granny Flat’ idea as being the solution to the States housing woes. In the two years Mr Borger pursued this useless idea, Council received only 33 applications for ‘Granny Flats’.

“When Mr Borger became Mayor of Parramatta Council in 2005, Council’s Budget was balanced. When he left as Mayor two years later he handed over the Mayoralty leaving Council’s Budget $7.9 million in deficit.

“With the State of NSW losing $90 million a month, the last thing it needs is Ministers like David Borger with no experience and disastrous track records.

“The people of NSW are entitled to have Ministers who actually know about the operations of Parliament and the requirement to be accountable to it. Mr Borger clearly fails in this test,” Mr Hartcher said.