Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

As the member for Macnamara notes, 116,000 Australians were identified as homeless on the last census night. However, that bold figure hides a great deal of complexity. We often think of homelessness as living in shelters or sleeping rough, but the issue goes much deeper than that, with nearly 18,000 people couch surfing, 17,000 living in boarding houses and more than 51,000 in severely overcrowded dwellings. Data from specialist homelessness services tells us that those most at risk of homelessness include survivors of domestic and family violence, young people aged between 15-24 years and, sadly, children even younger than that. It includes Indigenous Australians and perhaps, very sadly—and they're all sad—people over the age of 55. Fifty-seven per cent of the older people and 63 per cent of the young people assisted by these services are women.

Homelessness is a major challenge across the population, with more than one million people supported by specialist homelessness services since 2011-12. But it's particularly serious amongst some of our already vulnerable demographic groups. The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that there were 362 people experiencing homelessness in my electorate of Fisher in 2016. That's why I invited the Sunshine Coast charities, community housing groups and service providers to share their perspectives and ideas on the issue with the Assistant Minister for Community Housing, Homelessness and Community Services in a roundtable I organised in August this year.

More than a dozen local organisations met at the Landsborough School of Arts. We discussed the great and innovative work that each organisation is doing and, vitally, the extent to which they are working together to integrate their services and refer cases to one another. Participants also raised issues like the large number of homeless people who are single, the challenges of young people coming out of detention or residential care, the potential role of schools and the reluctance of older people to share housing. We also discussed the huge role of poor mental health in exacerbating homelessness. We looked at the challenges of lower-paid jobs and lower super balances faced by older women and the planning difficulties in building secondary dwellings. Finally, we discussed the importance of housing as a first step on a journey which must include employment, life skills, good health and aspiration to make a lasting difference.

Alongside the assistant minister, I want to thank Holly Aston of Caloundra Community Centre, Frances Harper of Compassionate Housing Affordability Solutions, Tom Lew of Gateway Care, Liza Mellon of Suncare Community Services and Sonia Goodwin of Sunny Street for coming and making such insightful contributions. I likewise want to thank Carolyn Wilson of Rosies, Andrew Elvin of Coast2Bay housing, Chris Turner of SunnyKids, Rosemary Campbell of the Salvation Army and Andy Denniss of Churches of Christ Housing Services. Finally, my thanks to Vicky Meyer of IFYS, Carrie Gage of Kyabra, Viki Blaik of Glass Housing 55, Andrew Anderson and Darce Foley of United Synergies and Greg Williams of the Maleny Neighbourhood Centre.

Though the states and territories have a responsibility for homelessness, the Morrison government is contributing more than $6 billion a year to support them in combating this challenge. In Fisher the government is also providing more than $3 million in funding to other organisations to make a difference. IFYS has received $1 million to deliver Caloundra Reconnect service. It works to ensure that young people in Beerwah, Glass House Mountains, Landsborough and Caloundra are able to access secure accommodation, stabilise their living situation, maintain family relationships and increase engagement with employment, education, training and the wider community. Further, coalition government funding supports initiatives including $113,000 for the Caloundra Community Centre for children and parent support services, $524,000 for UnitingCare community centres and $120,000 for Suncare Community Services. This government is taking tangible steps to address the issues of homelessness on the Sunshine Coast. (Time expired)

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