Gai Brodtmann (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is a real privilege to talk on this bill this afternoon, and I know, Deputy Speaker, from the work that we have done on the Status of Women caucus committee on this issue that it is an area of great interest to you, as it is to me. It is an area I have become particularly concerned about since my election in 2010 and I am proud of the progress that Labor is making in this area. In January 2008 Labor committed to tackling homelessness in Australia as a matter of national priority. This has been re-affirmed with our commitment to halve homelessness by 2020.

The problem of homelessness is being addressed within Labor's broader Housing Affordability and Social Inclusion agendas and with a particular focus on the prevention of homelessness, improved crisis services and the creation of exit points to secure long-term housing and stop the cycle of homelessness. This bill we are debating today outlines Labor's genuine commitment to tackling homelessness. One of the key initiatives Labor has taken over the past six years has been the development of a white paper on homelessness, The Road Home: A National Approach to Reducing Homelessness. This paper, which was released in December 2008, seeks to provide a national plan of action on homelessness for the years leading up to 2020. One of the commitments made by Labor in the white paper is to implement new legislation to ensure that people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness receive quality services and adequate support to meet their needs. This is the legislation that we are discussing this afternoon.

Evidence from the 2008 white paper says that, to break the cycle of homelessness, we need to have stable housing options and the maintenance of support services. I have witnessed the transformative qualities that housing can provide and the positive change it makes in people without supported accommodation. The bill we are debating today is about social acceptance. It is about providing an opportunity for people without an acceptable living standard to be considered and acknowledge so that everyone in this nation has a fair go. Furthermore, this bill explores the definition of homelessness, which is particularly important because, as we know, there is no one characterisation of homelessness in Australia. Homelessness in Australia might mean sleeping rough, living in a shelter, sleeping in a car or couch surfing at a friend's place. Homelessness in Australia might be temporary or long term, the result of economic difficulties such as a job loss, the result of mental illness or a means of escaping domestic violence. All of these things are homelessness in one form or another. This bill acknowledges that diversity, and it will enable better and more targeted strategies to create effective outcomes for Australia's homeless.

In Maslow's hierarchy of needs shelter and safety are the essential underpinnings of healthy and productive individuals and, through them, societies. The transformative qualities of a home were beautifully summarised by a constituent of mine whom I met last year when I was shopping at Fyshwick markets. She was behind the counter. She looked at me and said, 'Are you Gai Brodtmann?' I said, 'Yes, I am.' She said, 'I want to thank you.' I said, 'How did I assist?' She said, 'Your office was fantastic in helping me get a home and, as a result, I have been able to get a job and my whole life has turned around.' She was incredibly grateful not just for the fact that she had a home but also because, as a result of that home, she had got a job which she really loved. She had also got a new bloke in her life. I think she was a victim of domestic violence and some pretty unhappy circumstances at home. She had a happy child and her life had been transformed as a result of us helping her to get a social house.

Since being elected, I have had many, many women come to me looking for housing. I remember the first phone call I took when I had just got the keys to my electorate office. I was the only person in the office. There I was, newly sworn in as an MP, with the keys to the office but no-one around, and there was a woman on the phone whose circumstances were particularly tragic. She had been the victim of domestic violence. She had two teenage kids, one of them a boy, and there were some women's refuge issues as a result of that. She was working, and had been sleeping in her car. Her kids, who were going to school, had also been sleeping in the car. To top all of that tragedy off, she was also undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer. That was the very first call I received in my electorate office as a new MP, and we did everything in our power to get that woman a home. She now has a home. We see her quite regularly because she works just around the corner. The cancer is in remission and the kids are going really well at school. So, as I said, this housing transforms people's lives.

Since Labor has been in government, we have made a significant investment in homelessness and housing. We have invested almost $5 billion in new funding for support services and programs to assist people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. We have put in place a $1.5 billion National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness, and I understand that this agreement has delivered well over 180 new or expanded homelessness services across the country and supported around 240,000 people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Most importantly, we have invested $5.6 billion in social housing, the single largest investment in social housing in Australia's history. This massive investment is providing 31,000 affordable homes to vulnerable Australians, and hundreds are here in my electorate in Canberra.

As a result of this significant investment that we have made in social housing in Canberra, we have managed to move older Canberrans out of large family homes—they are empty-nesters now and they no longer need a huge family home—and into brand spanking new townhouses which are really close to all the services and infrastructure that they need to support them to shop, to see their friends and to have access to public transport. For many of these Canberrans it is the first time they have moved into a new home. I have been with them at the opening these beautiful new housing developments and seen the joy on their faces at these beautiful new townhouses that are so close to facilities. They are just overwhelmed and overjoyed. This is probably one of my favourite investments of the most significant investments that we have made since we have been in government.

Some states and territories have also used this funding to deliver housing projects specifically for women. Building social housing and, in particular, creating safe and reliable shelters and homes for women can only be done in partnerships with the states and territories. This is an area that I am particularly interested in. Now that we have managed to get these older Canberrans into these fabulous new townhouses as a result of the historic investment in social housing, I am keen for us to focus on looking after social housing for older women. The reason that I am is that I met with the Equality Rights Alliance last year and they showed me a report that they were putting together for their pre-budget submission. The report highlighted what they have dubbed a potential 'tsunami of homelessness' for older women in Australia. And here I want to quote from the ERA's submission:

Housing affordability is an issue that affects ageing women in greater numbers than ageing men. According to the 2011 Census there are 600,828 women in Australia who are single, over 45 years old, have less than median income and do not own their home. By comparison there are 373,794 men in the same situation.

The 2011 ABS Census also shows that among single people over 45 years old, women are much more likely to have less than median income: 62% of women compared to 38% of men. Even when older men are on a low income, they are more likely to be home owners: 38% of single men over 45 years old on less than median income do not own their home compared with 62% of women.

After their mid-60s, few women have incomes that are substantially above the Age Pension rate. Most people over 65 years do not live in care-based accommodation. In fact, 95% live at home. For a growing number of ageing women, this leaves the private rental market as their only option.

I have seen the faces of these women in my mobile offices, particularly when I do mobile offices during lunch breaks on weekdays. I have had women coming up to me and explaining to me that they are on an average income, they are still in the rental market, they are about 60 years of age, they only have a basic amount of super and they are absolutely petrified about what their future holds.

In March this year I talked about this ERA submission—as well as my concerns and my own experiences of women coming to my electorate office and my mobile office and meeting them out in the community—in an International Women's Day speech. I raised this issue, and I had women coming up to me afterwards in tears, saying, 'You have just described my situation. I am frightened for my future. What can I do about it?' I have had a number of women coming, again, in tears to the electorate office since that International Women's Day speech, highlighting these ERA figures and absolutely devastated and fearful for their futures.

According to Homelessness Australia, just over 40 per cent of the estimated homeless population are women. The census figures from 2006 reveal that women make up 40 per cent of the primary homeless people, or those people sleeping rough, and 48 per cent of the secondary homeless—that is, people staying with family or friends. These figures highlight the enormity of the problem and the challenge for us as policy makers to find solutions that enhance society and reduce the rate of homelessness within Australia and give people those fundamental building blocks to be able to succeed.

Having lived abroad, I appreciate the gift of living in a nation where the freedom to seek quality of life and the freedom to vote is valued. I think a particularly notable element of this bill is on the importance of preserving the freedom to vote. I welcome that initiative in this bill.

I am very passionately of the view that community is about helping underprivileged Australians stay off the streets. I was honoured to be the ambassador for Youth Homelessness Matters Day 2013.1am very concerned about the welfare and wellbeing of young people, women and anyone experiencing homelessness. This day was focused on young people, especially in my electorate. Forty-four thousand Australians under the age of 26 are homeless. The majority of them are just entering adulthood, a crucial time for anyone looking to build a career, gain stability and get on their own two feet.

I was reading through the St Vincent de Paul Society report on housing stress in Canberra and Goulburn, which was released late last year. It is a very stark assessment of the problem. There are some very moving stories of people's experiences here in the national capital. The St Vincent De Paul's report reveals cases of families of six or more living in two-bedroom units. There are cases of whole families living in cars, like the woman I described earlier. The sad fact is that a planned city like Canberra still has homelessness but unfortunately it goes unnoticed. We know that demand for access to government housing exceeds supply and the waiting times for priority and high needs housing is lengthy. On average, Canberrans are among the healthiest, best educated and most prosperous in Australia—but not those who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless. What makes homelessness such a critical issue here in Canberra is our climate. Those who are not in stable housing or do not have access to affordable heating suffer seriously in winter. Being homeless anywhere in Australia is tough, but being homeless in a place that gets so cold in winter is particularly tough.

Reconnect Services is helping some of Canberra's most vulnerable young people to not only get their lives back on track but avoid or move out of homelessness. The ACT government is continuing to fund Reconnect ACT. I applaud them for doing that. Their activities include counselling, group work, mediation and practical support for young people and their families,

In closing, I would like to commend the work that has been done by COAG on this issue. In March this year, the multimillion dollar agreement with the states and territories ensured the continued provision of vital homelessness services. The National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness enables service providers to have the certainty they need to continue to offer critical support to some of the most vulnerable Australians. I would like to thank Corporal Coomara Munro from the Australian Air Force who wrote this speech while interning in my office under the Defence program. This bill gives voice to the homeless. It puts us on track to providing long-term certainty and hope for underprivileged Australians. I commend it to the House.

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