Joanne Ryan (Lalor, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today marks the beginning of Anti-Poverty Week. It is sad when you consider that Deloitte Access Economics forecasts no improvement in wages and no improvement in employment in this country. It's interesting to note that the government's talking points that the media have their hands on today say quite clearly that the government understands that some Australians are doing it incredibly tough. They certainly are. Homelessness in Melbourne's west has increased 40 per cent since 2011. This is an absolute crisis. This has been highlighted by Melbourne Western Homelessness Network across the last few weeks.

I had news last night from an organisation in my community called Let's Feed. They have been inundated by people seeking food—not housing, just some food on the table. Kimberley, a mother of two; another single mother with a two-year-old; and a single parent with three kids aged 10, four and two have been reaching out asking for meals. I think that goes beyond doing it tough. This country is in a crisis and this government does nothing about it. The member for Deakin, the Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Housing, who lives in Melbourne, can't make it down to my area—unlike the member for Blaxland. I call on the minister to get serious about homelessness.

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