David Bradbury (Lindsay, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is estimated that every night 105,000 Australians are homeless. These are the people sleeping rough on the streets, under bridges or in parks in our communities. They are people like Patrick, who recently phoned my office late on a Friday afternoon. He had been robbed by another resident of the shelter at which he had been staying and had slept in a park for the previous two nights. He also has terminal stomach cancer and was desperate for somewhere warm and safe to stay for the night.

Homeless people are often victims of domestic violence, alcohol or drug abuse or sufferers of mental illness. Increasingly they are low-income families or pensioners who have become unable to afford their private rental properties but face a wait of sometimes years to enter public housing. They are also the people going from couch to couch at friends’ homes or staying in caravan parks or hotels, after having found themselves with nowhere else to go.

Debbie Peckham knows what it is like. She lives with her two children in temporary accommodation. She is currently housed in Barnardo’s temporary accommodation in Kingswood and told Penrith Press on 22 September 2009:

‘I know this isn’t forever,’ she said. ‘I’m always thinking ‘‘OK, we’re moving again, I’ve got to start packing.’’’

The impact of homelessness is profound. It can disrupt the development of young children, who miss out on formal schooling, and cause further social dislocation and instability for families and individuals who are already being pushed to the fringes of our communities.

I am proud to be part of a government that has not only put homeless and housing affordability back on the national agenda but also is building more homes to house those in need. We have come a long way since before the last election. We now have a federal housing minister who is tackling this role with great passion. We have a white paper, The road home, which has delivered a bold target for the future: halving homelessness by 2020. We have put some serious financial support on the table, increasing the Commonwealth investment in addressing homelessness by 55 per cent to $800 million over the next four years. Through the national affordable housing agreement that was struck with the states and territories, there will be an additional $6.1 billion over five years for social housing and support for those in the private rental market at risk of becoming homeless.

Through the stimulus package we have made the single biggest Commonwealth investment in social housing by funding the construction of 19,200 units around Australia. In my electorate of Lindsay the first two social housing units approved under the stimulus package are nearing completion and a further 250 units will be constructed over the next 12 months. Significantly, more than $2.7 million was spent on repairs and maintenance for 583 dwellings in my electorate, which helped to increase the number of social housing dwellings available to tenants. These houses would otherwise have been uninhabitable. The social housing program is also complementing other schemes like the National Rental Affordability Scheme, which will deliver new houses to low- and middle-income families and individuals at 20 per cent below the market rent. Increasing the number of houses that are available to people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless will help people like Debbie Peckham and Patrick.

We are also blessed to have outstanding networks of not-for-profit and community organisations which are providing essential support, assistance and direction in the homeless policy. I would like to take this opportunity to particularly acknowledge the work of the Nepean Campaign Against Homelessness. Established in 2007, the Nepean Campaign Against Homelessness has brought together a regional consortium of community housing groups, not-for-profit community organisations, churches, philanthropists, councils and government authorities and is convened by Stephanie Brennan, who I would like to thank for her dedication and commitment to this campaign.

In September the Nepean Campaign Against Homelessness launched a regional taskforce with the Minister for Housing with the goal of working within the policy framework set out by the Rudd government to deliver real outcomes in the Nepean region, including innovative solutions like the Common Ground model, which locates homelessness services and employment services in a combined accommodation facility. I would like to acknowledge the following members of the regional taskforce: Councillor Karen McKeown; Michael Vassili; Nick Sabel; the chair, Felicity Reynolds; Stephanie Oatley; Mary Waterford; the Hon. Phil Koperberg; Trish Doyle; Liz Giles; Katie Price; and Captain Colin Young. I would also like to single out Richard Eastmead, the owner of the Good Guys in Penrith, for his outstanding effort in engaging the local business community and raising the profile of homelessness in our community.

We have begun an important new phase in our policy approach to homelessness. I look forward to seeing the positive impacts that these efforts will have over the coming years.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Housing and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As the shadow minister for housing I welcome this opportunity to participate in this debate on homelessness. In focusing on homelessness I want to stress once again the coalition’s bipartisan support for some $3.5 billion worth of initiatives that have been announced by this government since it came to office. In doing so I also generally commend the Minister for Housing, who I know has a very sincere and deep commitment to addressing this issue. We may disagree from time to time about some of the methods, but I have no doubt about her genuine conviction and sincerity on this matter. I commend her for it and for bringing the issue of homelessness to far greater public attention in this place and more broadly.

The coalition are supporting many initiatives in this area from the government. We also recognise that in the last census around 105,000 Australians were considered homeless and around 16 per cent were sleeping rough on the streets—and I am sure the numbers have increased since then. While there had been a decline in youth homelessness, which was the single biggest component of homelessness in the five years leading up to that statistic, what was equally disturbing and concerning was the significant increase in homelessness amongst families. I think all of us would shudder at the thought of parents struggling with kids without a home. As a parent I find that unthinkable, and it obviously demands our attention in this place.

In that period of time also the number of people on public housing waiting lists reduced by 30,000. During that same time, despite an investment by state and federal governments of around $4 billion, there was a reduction in the number of public housing dwellings by more than 10,000. What that says is that, in order to address issues of housing and homelessness, at least from an economic perspective, we have to address issues like ensuring they have a job, they have growth in their income and they have wages that can support them in private accommodation. At the end of the day, our goal should be to have fewer people requiring homeless services, fewer people requiring supported accommodation in the area of social housing and more people able to live sustainably in the private housing market. To do that we have to focus on the causes, not the symptoms, in this very critical area.

In the area of homelessness—and this is particularly where the coalition has lent its greatest support to the government—we have supported strongly initiatives such as A Place to Call Home. This is an excellent initiative which gives capital resources and support to not-for-profit organisations such as Mission Australia to go out and put beds in place. That is what they do. It is an excellent initiative. Equally, the Reconnect Program, which was a program of the previous government, and other programs which seek to connect homeless youth, in particular, to employment and other life circumstances are very good programs which deal with the root causes of homelessness.

Those who will always have to rely on homelessness services, rather than those who may need them from time to time for economic reasons, will be forced to do so because of fairly drastic life situations in their own journeys. These include mental illness, severe life disruptions caused by death, disability or things of this nature, juvenile justice issues, substance abuse and a range of other dramatic events which forever seem to disadvantage people from being able to achieve a sense of sustainability with their own housing needs. These are the people I want to make sure that we focus our attention on and provide services and support to. To do that, we need to ensure that as many people as possible are not competing for those services for economic reasons.

While I support elements of the motion put forward tonight—in particular, points (1) and (3)—and take on good faith the presentation made by the previous speaker about the work of the local community organisations, which I am sure is accurate and worthy of commendation, in my opinion, the government’s strategy focuses far too much on the public dimension of this problem and not enough on the private dimension. Ninety-five per cent of Australians live in private housing. The Reserve Bank governor has made it crystal clear that the affordability pressures that are built into our housing markets across the country are being caused by a chronic dislocation of supply and demand. We need to build around 190,000 dwellings each year to make up for the backlog and to cope with future population pressures. We are building fewer than 140,000. As long as that remains the case, because of blockages in supply—principally at a state and local government level—and we have a national affordable housing agreement which does not require one state or territory government in this country to release one block of land or approve one dwelling unit, we will have a problem. This is where the focus needs to be—on a comprehensive policy, not one that looks only at the public domain.

Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to speak on the very important social issue of homelessness and I want to begin by congratulating the member for Lindsay for bringing the issue of homelessness to this chamber. It is hard to talk about homelessness without talking about a denial of the opportunities afforded to most Australians—opportunities which exist on the premise that a person is living in the comfort and security of a stable home. On any given night up to 105,000 of our fellow Australians are homeless, divorced of the connection to all that was once theirs and, from it, losing all opportunities that would otherwise be available to them. With a lack of a point of stability, it is difficult for homeless people not only to obtain and keep a job but also to participate in many other of life’s aspects.

If we are going to change the landscape of opportunity for the homeless across Australia, we as a government need to create supported and sustainable living arrangements and social housing programs to accommodate our most vulnerable citizens. We need to ensure that, as Australia moves forward into a progressive future, it does so in the company of all its citizens. That is why I am encouraged by the federal government’s National Affordable Housing Agreement as well as the National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness—which aim to do just that. From these key initiatives, specialist housing services are made available and new initiatives, programs and services to tackle issues of social inclusion and housing affordability are created.

These initiatives reflect the fact that the Rudd Labor government is not just about building bricks but is as much about tackling the effects of homelessness and its root causes. These are key measures that build a solid framework from which the government’s white paper on homelessness, entitled The road home, is brought to fruition and key initiatives are rolled out to meet its objective of halving the rate of homelessness by 2020. By identifying interim targets, the government has ensured that this will occur in an environment of transparency and accountability.

I would like to acknowledge here today the important work that community based organisations undertake in the field of homelessness. Having worked closely with the Reverend David Peake of E Qubed, which is part of the Anglicare Australia-wide network, I have come to learn firsthand of the local initiatives being put forward to address what is described as the ‘web of disadvantage’. The proposals put forward by David Peake, through his E Qubed project, aimed at building a social enterprise centre, are designed to address the disproportionately high rate of disadvantage in Broadmeadows and surrounding areas. They aim to tackle the staggering figures shown in the 2007 Dropping off the edge report authored by Professor Tony Vinson, which maps the distribution of social disadvantage throughout Australia. In this report, Professor Vinson cites Broadmeadows as the most disadvantaged community in Victoria.

David notes that, of the young people involved in the programs he has attended to over the last 30 years, roughly 30 per cent were considered homeless. It was the homeless youth who carried most of the problems, bringing with them issues to do with domestic violence, substance abuse and, amongst other things, issues of self-harm. As problems accumulate and issues to do with social exclusion are compounded, young females who are homeless are particularly at risk, with David estimating that roughly 20 per cent were victims of child sex abuse. What this demonstrates is that homelessness is an issue which is not confined to a particular demographic and that it requires a wide range of responses. David’s experience over the last three decades speaks volumes. When you have a situation where there is acute disadvantage within an already disadvantaged sector of society, it is really difficult to try to arrive at a level at which these people are able to fully participate in that society.

In the Australian context it is home which serves as a basis for all other opportunities afforded to us all. E Qubed aims to create a stable environment from which to run its programs. It is, as David notes, what a home should be in terms of developing attitudes. It aims to provide a framework from which issues such as multigenerational unemployment and the lack of ambitious thinking are addressed within an environment reflective of the stability of a home. As David notes:

Housing targets will only be effective if they are complemented with other support programs—it is primarily an issue of social inclusion.

That is why I welcome the federal government’s social inclusion agenda and the creation of new initiatives, programs and services to tackle issues of social inclusion surrounding the efforts aimed at tackling homelessness. Such a multifaceted approach will help Australia tackle this key question and will serve as an encouragement to people like David who have long been trying to grapple with this complex social problem.

Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the motion moved by the member for Lindsay. I thank the member for Lindsay for bringing the issue of homelessness before the House and for the opportunity to participate in the debate. Homelessness is a very serious issue both in my electorate of Forrest and across Australia—that inadequate access to safe and secure housing that so many of us take for granted. Homelessness affects thousands of people both directly and indirectly. In 2008 it was estimated that there were 958 homeless people in the South West of WA, which equates to a rate of 52 homeless people per 10,000 head of population.

As we have heard, and are all aware, there is a very serious personal risk in living on the street, living in crisis or refuge accommodation or living in improvised accommodation. We know that domestic and family violence are the most common reasons for homelessness. Eviction and previous accommodation completion are other major contributors, as are relationship and family breakdown, usual accommodation being unavailable and financial difficulties—which is why the member for Cook was so right when he confirmed that the need for jobs is very important.

Participants at two recent Shelter WA housing forums expressed their belief that there was a hidden homelessness problem in the South West of WA. It has been confirmed that, at a rate of 52 per 10,000 head, the South West had a higher proportional rate of homelessness than the Perth metropolitan area. Furthermore, current figures indicate that around 105,000 Australians are homeless each night. In December, 16,000 Australians were classified as sleeping rough on the streets. The level of homelessness in Australia has remained constant for the past 12 years. In fact, youth homelessness has actually reduced over the last five years, and programs such as Reconnect have been very important in this process.

Homelessness is about more than just not having a house or a home to live in, and there are no easy answers as often each case is specific. The coalition is consistently giving bipartisan support to measures that address homelessness and believes that it is essential we achieve the correct policy balance. While building extra shelters is useful and necessary, they alone do not address the underlying causes of homelessness. We believe that an integrated outcomes-based policy is required that addresses many of the complexities of homelessness including mental health, employment services, substance abuse, family support, law enforcement and juvenile justice. A collaborative approach that not only houses the homeless, but also builds new economic growth—one of the keys to encouraging provision of private market housing that is affordable to as many Australians as possible.

Whilst in government, the coalition promoted a number of innovative approaches to housing finance, the acceleration of housing supply and reduction regulatory barriers. Public housing availability is an increasing issue in my electorate and I note that there are increasing numbers waiting for public housing. An article in the Australian on 6 November stated:

…while the Rudd government’s multi-billion-dollar stimulus measures to boost the nation’s social and community housing stock will eventually add 20,000 homes, it’s a drop in the bucket given that 250,000 houses are needed to meet the immediate demand, …

The West Australian reported increasing waiting lists for public houses in Western Australia. In an article in the West Australian, the Department of Housing and Works Director-General, Grahame Searle, stated that the median rental price in WA has soared $50 a week in recent years from about $160 a week four years ago, to about $360 a week now.

In conclusion, the coalition gives bipartisan support for the homeless program, but we believe that we must look at permanent solutions and will continue to do so. I recognise the work and efforts of all of the groups and individuals in my electorate who assist with homeless people and work tirelessly to support them. The Collie Rotary Club recently held a ‘sleep out with the homeless’ campaign in an effort to not only raise the profile of people who are homeless in their community but to also raise funds for a range of initiatives to support them.

Debate (on motion by Mr Bradbury) adjourned.