Affordable housing senate inquiry report delayed for fourth time

Senator Sam Dastyari has said that he is too busy to finalise the final report of the Senate inquiry into affordable housing - again.

The release of the Economics References Committee's Inquiry into Affordable Housing report has been delayed until early May.

The committee inquiry kicked off in December 2013 with the report due by June 2014.

The Senate subsequently extended the reporting date on three occasions: first to November 2014, then to the first sitting day in March 2015 and finally by today, 14 April 2015.

Yesterday Dastyari let the Senate president know he was running late with his report.

He was recently dubbed a "stuntman" by assistant treasurer, Josh Frydenberg.

"I call him the Evil Knievel of Australian politics," Frydenberg said suggesting the recent senate hearings into international corporate tax were stunt-ridden.

With submissions from the Commonwealth, state and territory governments, organisations, academics and other people known to be interested in housing, the affordability committee received 230 submissions mostly in early 2014.

"The committee is preparing a comprehensive report to address the terms of reference," Dastyari advised yesterday.

"In order to allow committee members sufficient time to consider the draft report, the committee has …... the intention of tabling its final report before 8 May 2015."

Get your homework in please Senator!

PS Property Observer gleans the final draft - some 600 pages - is being finalised by the somewhat stretched secretariat of the committee.