Aaron Violi (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Homelessness is a complex social and economic problem. It can be the result of relationship breakdown, family violence, unemployment and mental health issues, and, in most cases, a combination of these. Everyone deserves a home, a place to feel safe, welcome and accepted. National Homelessness Week is being launched today with the theme 'to end homelessness we need a plan'. I'm proud to participate this afternoon in the launch of the Yarra Ranges Homelessness Week 2022 broadcast, where we will engage in a conversation with local charities and the council about the progress and strategies around this issue.

In my electorate of Casey, unfortunately homelessness is a major local issue. In the 2016 census there were 360 people in Casey experiencing homelessness. However, I know through conversations with local organisations that this number is under-reported. In Casey we have some wonderful services and organisations, supported by governments, providing practical and sustainable assistance to local people in their time of need. Most people need temporary assistance and, once given a helping hand, will be able to go on to support themselves and their family. In 2021, almost 278,000 people around Australia were provided with assistance, equating to 1.1 percent of the Australian population.

In Casey we have many great organisations that support this, like Anchor, which is located in Lilydale, which provides outreach to Healesville, Yarra Junction and Warburton for those who cannot come into the office. It provides information and referrals for those in need, with the goal to transition people into long-term, sustainable housing. They're helping rough sleepers and people needing food assistance or emergency accommodation. We're also lucky to have the Philanthropic Collective, run by Andrew, which provides food relief for those in the Dandenong's. I was fortunate, earlier this year, to help Andrew and his team pack hampers and support those in need when they need that temporary support. I'm looking forward to continuing to support Andrew and his team this year.

The Redwood Community Centre in Warburton provides food relief and phone support for those in need in the Upper Yarra, in Casey, while the Yarra Ranges Housing Action Group coordinates all the areas of Casey to make sure we can support those who need it. I'm very fortunate that my good friend Neal Taylor runs Holy Fools, which is a for-impact charity designed to support those in need in Lilydale and the surrounding urban areas. I've known Neal for about five years, and his organisation has run for 12 years. He's organising today's event, and I want to pay tribute to Neal for the work that he does for the homeless people in Casey and for the support he provides to them.

While we're doing a lot locally and we have a lot of great organisations supporting homelessness, we need to understand that we're facing significant economic challenges, which put further pressure on our local organisations and those across the country with regard to homelessness. We're facing high inflation and we've got rising interest rates, and that's going to put even more pressure on our most vulnerable.

The ultimate solution here is for the government to have a plan to address these rising cost-of-living pressures. Unfortunately, last week, when we heard from the Treasurer, he was looking in the rear-vision mirror, back at the last government, and criticising, not looking forward to provide a solution for those most vulnerable in the country. We're going to see an interest rate rise tomorrow, which is going to put more pressure on people's budgets. We need a plan from this government to address solutions now, not in September or in October.

Unemployment is currently at 3.5 per cent, and we know that the greatest solution to reduce homelessness and pressure on our most vulnerable is a job. So, as we face these challenges of high inflation and rising interest rates, the government need to ensure that they keep unemployment as low as possible, because it's not about a number. It's not about 3.5 per cent. It's about the people that are behind this number. This is the challenge that this government faces. We need our Treasurer to stop looking backwards in the rear-view mirror and to look forward, because a rising tide lifts all boats.

So, while I welcome the government's commitment to develop a new national housing and homelessness plan, with the support and assistance of key stakeholders, I hope they can include some of my local organisations, like Holy Fools and Anchor, so they can contribute to this plan.

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