Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Nick Xenophon Team) Share this | Hansard source

Tomorrow marks the deadline for submitting expressions of interest to buy the now empty Inverbrackie Detention Centre in my electorate of Mayo. My understanding is that at least five developers have indicated an interest in buying the former Defence housing estate beside the Woodside Army Barracks, which is being sold off as a result of the 2014 budget cuts. Finance Minister Mathias Cormann will soon make a decision about who will develop the 22 hectare property, which boasts 81 homes, a community hall, a day-care centre, a gym and many vacant allotments.

Recently I learnt that my regional electorate has one of the highest rates of homelessness in South Australia. There are 48 people per 10,000 head of population without homes in Mayo, compared with 38 per 10,000 across South Australia and 34 per 10,000 in Adelaide. The leading cause of homelessness in my area is family violence. I implore Minister Cormann to give due consideration to any bid for the Inverbrackie Detention Centre that provides some affordable and transitional housing and offers some scope for the homes to be used to address the lack of accommodation for local families escaping family violence. With the spectre of domestic violence hanging over this country, the federal government must also end its silence in relation to the National Partnership on Homelessness. It needs to take responsibility and show leadership in relation to this.

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