More than 12 months ago, a housing summit was convened by Housing Minister Roger Jaensch to discuss how best to meet the growing need of Tasmanian communities for affordable housing.

Sites in Launceston included a total of nearly 38 hectares located at the Technopark precinct at Kings Meadows, Reservoir Road and Archer Street at Rocherlea, Wildor Crescent at Ravenswood, Penquite Road at Norwood and five hectares at the current University of Tasmania Newnham campus.

Mr Jaensch said following the housing summit, the government had introduced legislation to fast-track the rezoning of surplus government land and had done so at sites in Hobart and Devonport.

However, he did not confirm if the sites in Launceston had been unlocked. He said the government was working on a series of new orders to introduce to Parliament this year.

Mr Jaensch said until March 2019, there had been 215 affordable housing opportunities delivered in Launceston under the government's affordable housing action plan.

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"This includes both supply (96 new homes and lots) and access to housing assistance (119 households assisted)," he said.

"Our upcoming affordable housing action plan (stage two), will deliver at least 241 affordable lots and homes in the North across the strategy."

Mr Jaensch said the government had taken a "client-centric approach" to the housing crisis plaguing the state and had focused on providing solutions to the problems faced by many.

However, the Minister was labelled as 'heartless' when he responded to the case of Nikki Russell, a mother with four children aged between 10 and 18 months old, who sent a letter to MPs that was read out to Parliament on May 21.

Mr Jaensch told Parliament Ms Russell, who has been housed in emergency accommodation, should contact Housing Connect, a service set up by the government to deliver solutions to the crisis to get help for her situation.

At the time, Labor housing spokeswoman Alison Standen said Mr Jaensch's cold dismissal of the state's housing crisis was "simply heartless."

"Despite being confronted with the cold, hard reality on Tuesday on the floor of the Parliament of a young single mother of four facing the very real prospect of becoming homeless, the best Minister Roger Jaensch can come up with is to advise Tasmanians in this situation to dial a 1800 number," Ms Standen said.

Mr Jaensch said the government had extended funding for emergency support to provide secure, safe accommodation options to those Tasmanians who are homeless or at risk of experiencing homelessness.

"By taking a more client-centric approach, Housing Connect can find more stable and positive outcomes for people accessing support," Mr Jaensch said.

TasCOSS chief executive Kym Goodes said an announcement to bring forward funds was welcome but she hoped to see a plan for how it would be achieved.

"People waiting for a place to call home in Tasmania need to feel confident that multi-million dollar announcements will make a difference in their lives, this means ensuring announcements provide the detail on where, when and how these houses will be built," she said.

Ms Goodes said it was "imperative" the government be transparent in demonstrating its capacity to reach targets in an achievable timeframe.

"Long-term, effective solutions to Tasmania's housing issues include increasing participation through education and training, getting local people into local jobs and investing in the essential services required in our communities," she said.

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