Bridget Archer (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Let me share the story of Kelly as reported by the ABC Tasmania just a few days ago. Kelly and her assistance dog, Ned, have been living in a tent at a caravan park in regional Tasmania for the past six months after being notified that the rent on her home would increase. Staying in the property became unaffordable. 'Rather than blacklist myself, so to speak, putting myself in a situation [where] I would get into financial strife, I didn't renew the lease,' she said. Kelly works 15 hours a fortnight, receives the disability pension and has been on the priority housing list since the middle last year. Despite the hardships of living in a tent, it is equally hard knowing she is not the only one. 'It's quite common practice. You say you're in a tent and like, it's not a big thing anymore, because it's becoming so normalised, unfortunately,' she said.

Just this week a man came into my office desperate for help in finding a place to live for him and his three children. He has been on the priority housing list for 18 months and is currently in short-term accommodation. Two weeks ago I sat with a woman in my electorate office. I will call her Lisa. Lisa is also living with her young daughter in short-term accommodation after moving out of her home to escape her controlling partner, walking out with just the clothes on her back. A week before that, a young woman, eight months pregnant, walked into my electorate office distressed at having nowhere to sleep that night. Yesterday there was an email from a constituent who has family members living in a tent on her property as they have nowhere else to go. This email was shortly followed by another one, this time from a mother of three who, while on the waiting list for housing, is also living in a tent with her three teenage children: 'My kids and I are just not safe at all and I just don't know what to do anymore.'

These are just a handful of the numerous cases that are raised in my office day after day and week after week, in the midst of a social and affordable housing crisis in Tasmania and particularly in my electorate of Bass. It's not just confined to Launceston and surrounding suburbs; I encounter it in rural areas, from Scottsdale to my home town of George Town and the beautiful but remote Flinders Island. We shouldn't have to see people leaving the towns they grew up in, where they're connected to family and their communities, because they can't access housing. Many tourism and hospitality businesses in some of our rural and regional tourist hotspots are also struggling to recruit and retain employees as there is simply nowhere for them to live. When I am out and about in my electorate, it is one of the top issues raised with me time and again, consistently up there with health and, recently, cost of living—all closely connected issues. The rise of electricity prices, grocery costs and interest rates is a triple threat, and I know everyone in here is seeing the impact in their electorates. There are too many like Kelly who simply cannot afford the increase in rental prices and are left with nowhere else to go.

Just last week Magnolia Place, a refuge for women and children escaping domestic and family violence, officially launched 15 new self-contained units. This project has been more than 20 years in the making and is one that I was proud to play a role in funding through the previous coalition government. But, as I acknowledged at the time, demand still far outweighs supply and, particularly for those seeking transition accommodation, there is an acute need now for these to be built. As I meet with constituents who have been waiting for more than a year and a half for somewhere to live or are couch surfing while pregnant, due to lack of social or affordable housing, how can I in good conscience say to them that I commit to doing what I can to help them and then turn around and vote against a policy that, though flawed, may help?

We are in the midst of a social and affordable housing crisis. In 2022, just last year, the 12-month average to receive housing across the state was around 66.6 per cent, compared with 58.9 per cent a year earlier. According to data published by Everybody's Home, Bass has the highest proportion of people waiting for social housing in the state, at around 6.2 per cent.

There are undoubtedly holes in what the government has proposed, which I will address further on, but, at its core, it is a step forward towards providing more Australians—Tasmanians, mums and dads, women escaping family and domestic violence, older Australians and younger people—with a roof over their head. I can't stand here as an elected representative and make a choice to ignore their needs. The housing crisis cannot be solved by one level of government on its own, and I firmly believe a coordinated, integrated and collaborative approach from all three levels of government is the best chance we have to create a long-term, sustainable solution. I always view my role in this place as that: how can I use the privilege I have here to be part of the solution?

I believe this bill further builds on the foundations of what the coalition government has achieved. Gains were made through the establishment of our National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation, which will soon be known as Housing Australia. We helped fund more than 21,000 social and affordable homes. The establishment of the NHFIC also created an Affordable Housing Bond Aggregator, providing cheaper and longer-term finance to registered community housing providers. Since its launch it has delivered $2.9 billion of low-cost loans to community housing providers to support 15,000 social and affordable dwellings. Additionally, it unlocked 6,900 social, affordable and market dwellings, through our $1 billion infrastructure facility, to make housing supply more responsive to demand.

I'm proud that, just a few years ago, I stood with the member for Deakin as he announced the abolishment of $150 million in Tasmanian government debt, with the requirement that the state government redirect all scheduled repayments to programs that increase access to social housing, reduce homelessness and improve housing supply across the state. This work is well underway, but more is needed.

I commend the state government on their creation last year of Homes Tasmania, a dedicated housing authority responsible for delivering improved housing services and increasing the supply of social and affordable housing across the state. Homes Tasmania is playing a key role in the state government's strategy to deliver 10,000 new social and affordable homes by 2032.

This legislation has been cautiously welcomed by stakeholders in the state. Centacare Evolve Housing's CEO, Ben Wilson, said that the initiative will foster greater cooperation between state and federal governments, the construction industry and community housing providers, in order to tackle the issues of housing and homelessness.

However, there are still a number of questions, as raised by others in this chamber, that I would like to see answered. There are significant gaps in detail on how the funding will be delivered. As it appears now, all states would be competing for funding, without clear criteria or process. It's also important that there is enough flexibility in the process for proposals to be considered on their merits in addressing community need, and I call on the minister to be more forthcoming with this information. I also support the member for Goldstein's call for the government to clarify how they will commit to the fund if there is a shortfall. As an elected representative for a regional and rural area, I, like the member for Indi, want to see the specific needs of regional and remote Australia addressed through the bill.

Many questions remain, and I am hopeful that the minister will continue to work to address these issues, and I'm optimistic that this bill may be further improved in the Senate. I will continue to monitor and respond accordingly.

But, when it comes to the lives of northern Tasmanians, now is not the time to let the perfect be the enemy of the good. As the government, you are expected to solve these issues, and I'm not going to get in the way. But supporting you does not get you off the hook if you don't deliver what is promised through this bill. I will act in good faith, but I will be holding you to account to ensure that you have delivered what it is that you have promised.

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