Malaysian Minister's visit

The Department of Human Services - Housing were pleased to welcome the Honourable Kong Cho Ha, Malaysian Minister for Housing and Local Government on his recent visit to Melbourne. Wishing to redevelop areas of the Malaysian housing system, Minister Ha met with branch directors to source information on current housing initiatives in Victoria and enjoyed first hand experiences at a range of Melbourne’s diverse public housing facilities.

Directors Anthony Hardy and Richard Deyell provided a briefing on Melbourne’s housing sector before accompanying the Minister on a site visit to the K2 public housing project in Windsor. The project, which focuses on environmentally sustainable housing, provided the Minister with the opportunity to view state-of-the-art developments in waste management and green architecture.

After enjoying an informal luncheon with Executive Director, Margaret Crawford the Minister was shown to neighbourhood renewal projects in Fitzroy and East Reservoir with Harald Klein. Neighbourhood renewal was an area of particular interest to the Minister who is endeavouring to regenerate projects of a similar nature in Malaysia.

With thanks to the hospitality of branch directors and their staff, Mr. Ha thoroughly enjoyed his visit to Melbourne and developed an understanding of the initiatives being used in Victoria to establish a sustainable living environment.