Josh Burns (Macnamara, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

  (a) access to adequate housing is a fundamental right under Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which Australia has ratified;

  (b) adequate housing requires safe, secure and affordable accommodation be accessible to all;

  (c) 116,427 Australians were homeless on the last census night;

  (d) homelessness affects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders disproportionately;

  (e) homelessness includes those in crisis accommodation, improvised dwellings, temporary accommodation, boarding houses and other insecure forms of housing;

  (f) inadequate provision of public housing is a major cause of homelessness;

  (g) public housing is a central tenant of an equitable Australia where a fair go requires access to secure accommodation;

  (h) public housing is a determinative factor in education, employment, and health outcomes; and

  (i) public housing is a means of social mobility and opportunity; and

(2) calls on the Government to help build more affordable homes and ensure every Australian has their own safe place to live.

This is a very important motion—one that I am pleased to speak on and one that I am pleased to bring to this House. We have a housing crisis in this country. We have a situation where more and more Australians can't afford to live in their own home. We have a situation where the dream of more and more Australians of owning their own home is fading away. The ability to get through their lives and the financial stress of being able to pay the bills is becoming harder and harder for too many Australians. Yet the government does not have a plan to tackle housing affordability and the government does not have a plan to tackle homelessness in this country.

I want to start by acknowledging the newly established Labor for Housing group in Victoria. I want to especially recognise Julijana Todorovic and John Webber for their work in leading Labor for Housing. We moved a motion at the Victorian state Labor conference last weekend—one I was pleased to support and one where we are bringing grassroots policy ideas to this important debate.

Let's have a look at some of the numbers. The numbers in this debate are crucial. They are crucial to showing whether or not the government has a plan. Right now, the government's doing a little bit. There's a little bit of piecemeal here, a little bit of policy over there, a little bit of financial raising over here, but it is not a plan to deal with the housing crisis in this country. According to a 2017 report that was presented to the government, Supporting the implementation of an affordable housing bond aggregatora 2017 report by the Affordable Housing Working Group to the Heads of Treasuries—it is estimated that we need to create at least 6,000 new social housing homes in this country to stay afloat; to stay at the current levels. That is combined with the fact that CEDA, as well as a number of other community groups, has made a report that says the actual amount of affordable homes that we need to create in this country is closer to 20,000. How many has the government actually created right now? Well, I can tell you. The National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation has helped build around 1,000 new homes since it was established, which is a great thing; in fact, we're seeing complementary statements by Cbus and a number of other organisations. But that is not a housing plan. Doing a little bit is not a plan for housing. Doing a little bit over here, supporting a few homes and supporting some community housing development is a good thing, and the government should be congratulated for doing a good thing, but that doesn't excuse the government from actually bringing a housing plan to this country. It doesn't excuse them from actually bringing a plan to tackle homelessness in this country. What is government for—to do a little bit of policy over here or to actually tackle an issue? Is it to deal with the things that face Australians today? Having a small policy on the side doesn't excuse this government from not actually dealing with the crux of this problem.

We on this side of the chamber are not perfect, and I am the first to admit that. We lost a very difficult election, but at least we had a national housing plan. At least we had a plan that dealt with the fact that we have a housing crisis in this country. The plan involved building 250,000 new affordable homes, $88 million for a safe housing fund, reinstating a minister for housing and homelessness, re-establishing the National Housing Supply Council and a number of other reforms. It was a plan. It was something that said, 'We acknowledge the scale of the problem, and here is our policy to deal with it.' Investing in a little bit of renewable energy isn't a national energy plan. Creating a couple of homes on the side isn't a housing and homelessness plan. Actually having the courage, the intellectual rigour, the commitment to the policy—that's what this government needs to do instead of fobbing off their responsibilities.

I can't speak on this issue without addressing one of the most fundamental parts of this debate: the staggeringly low rate of Newstart. So many people who are in the social and community housing sector, when they need to be able to live in an affordable home, simply cannot get into the market because of the low rate of Newstart. We have a housing and homelessness crisis in this country. Doing a little bit on the side is not a housing plan, and this government needs to get up and do something about it.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Anne Stanley (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to 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)

Anne Stanley (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise in support of the motion by the member for McNamara and thank him for bringing this national shame to light in this place. In fact, this is an issue that both the federal government and the New South Wales state government have shied away from for a number of years. It's an issue that reflects the attitude of those walking past—ignore it: it's out of sight, out of mind. But we're seeing progress. It's not just the member for McNamara who is speaking out on this issue, and I want to acknowledge all the community organisations who for a number of years and in some cases decades have worked on the streets to feed, house and find employment opportunities for our vulnerable homeless Australians.

According to the censuses, between 2011 and 2016 the total number of homeless people in New South Wales increased by 27 per cent. In fact, a closer look at these numbers reveals our national shame in even more significant circumstances. Those census numbers reveal that between 2011 and 2016 the total number of people sleeping rough increased by 35 per cent, the total number of people living in severely crowded dwellings increased by 74 per cent and the number of people living in supported accommodation or boarding houses increased by 19 per cent. These numbers are set against the fact that the total number of people living in temporary lodgings reduced by nine per cent.

Of all homeless people in New South Wales, over 2,000 individuals are First Australians. I know that in electorates like mine there are lengthy waiting lists of up to 20 years for social housing. I've seen constituents who, even though they are considered a priority, have been on the priority list for over three years with no offers in sight. Governments post World War II knew they had to house their fellow citizens to make sure that they could contribute to our society and our economy. They are our most critically vulnerable people. Homelessness occurs not just through the loss of employment. There are so many factors that increase both the number of homeless people on our streets and their vulnerability. Domestic violence, sexual assault, racial vilification, sexual orientation, family rejection, mental health issues, chronic disease, acute health issues, the cost of health care and the loss of family and social support systems are all factors in homelessness, as is the low rate of Newstart, as the member for McNamara pointed out.

What should break our hearts are the following statistics. The total number of children under 12 who are living in homelessness increased by 10 per cent in the last two censuses. The total number of people aged 55 and over who are living in homelessness increased by 43 per cent in the same period. This is a national crisis, a national crisis of shame, identity and of inaction.

One of the key influences of this disgraceful and unacceptable explosion in homelessness is the rise in the cost of living, coupled with stagnating wages. In fact, in the 2016 census 17 per cent of the homeless population in New South Wales was employed full time and over 16 per cent were employed part time. How can it be in a country like that, that if you're employed full time you can't afford to put a roof over your head? Full-time workers that are homeless increased by 45 per cent in the five years between 2011 and 2016. The fact that full-time and part-time workers are homeless now shows the pressures that Australians are facing, and this is partly because of the complete lack of action from both this government and the New South Wales state government.

In the area that I live, councils, such as Liverpool City Council, have had to take up the slack. In the past few weeks Liverpool City Council presented the Draft Homelessness Strategy and Action Plan for the area and it is currently out on public exhibition. People in Liverpool are facing some of the highest rates of drivers for homelessness anywhere in the state. That means that Liverpool, and with that parts of Werriwa, may be facing some of the most extreme increases in homelessness in the future. Liverpool council is taking action and so is the New South Wales government and the federal government. We must develop policies at all levels of government to address both the homelessness crisis and the drivers that are causing this crisis. I call on the federal government to take action on homelessness and to put forward a plan that will help address critical housing shortages and the underlying cause of this national shame. Providing housing that is affordable, safe and appropriate makes a profound difference in people's lives and it's the right thing to do in a civilised country like ours.

Daniel Mulino (Fraser, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I commend the member for Macnamara on this very important motion. This is an area of public policy that is, indeed, complex. And that complexity and that urgency, because of the types of people that are being affected by increasing rates of homelessness—as identified by the members for Macnamara and Werriwa—means that we need a plan. As the member for Macnamara indicated, there is some action being undertaken at the moment but it is too ad hoc and it is too piecemeal given the nature of the problem that our country faces.

I want to indicate some statistics in relation to my electorate that indicate what is going on in my community but also that reflect what is going on across the country. Homelessness in the local government area of Brimbank, which is an area that closely aligns with the federal electorate that I represent, increased by 40 per cent by 2011 and 2016, and that is a shameful statistic in a country as wealthy as ours. The rate of homelessness in St Albans nearly doubled between 2011 and 2016. There were 420 people homeless in St Albans on census night in 2016. That's one suburb in my electorate and that is a number that is shameful and far too high. There were 1,400 homeless in Brimbank in 2016. One-third of those experiencing homelessness in Fraser were aged between 12 and 24. As I said, that supports the arguments that were raised by the members for Macnamara and Werriwa that this is a problem that afflicts those who are most vulnerable in our community. This problem reflects long-term trends, systemic trends, that government needs to address with a large, well-funded, overarching plan, and that is not what is happening at the moment.

Across our country in 2017-18 over 800,000 Australians were in social housing, living in over 400,000 dwellings across the country. Most were in public housing with increasing numbers in community housing. What is most striking about that stock of housing is that the stock of social housing has barely grown in the last 20 years, whereas our overall population has increased by 33 per cent. That reflects the imbalance at the moment between those who are seeking short-term, affordable housing and the stock that is available. That's why waiting lists are growing across our country.

The construction of new public housing dwellings is currently at its lowest rate for 40 years and existing public housing stock is severely underfunded. In 1974-75 the Commonwealth invested 0.55 per cent of GDP in public housing. Today, it's under 0.1 per cent. As I said, it is shameful, given what a wealthy country we are, that we are underfunding such a critical part of our social safety net. The trend is down. We must reverse that trend. That is something that this government is not paying attention to. There remain 200,000 people on social housing waiting lists across the country.

We can look at some of our comparator countries to see how we fare. In Australia, we have a public housing sector that is 4.4 per cent of the total stock. Look at Ireland at 10 per cent, France at 17 per cent and the UK at 18 per cent. They are orders of magnitude higher, providing housing stock that is affordable and secure for the most vulnerable in society. In our country, not only is the stock low but the trend in investment is paltry and falling. This is an environment, as the member for Macnamara pointed out, where we need a plan, not piecemeal activities and not initiatives here and there. We need an overarching plan. The government's lack of action in this area is so reflective of its lack of planning across its economic policy and social policy more generally.

Well, what do we need? We need a massive increase in investment. Look at what this party took to the last election. We had a bold plan that included 250,000 new, affordable rental homes at 20 per cent below market rent over 10 years, 20,000 of which would have been in the first term. That is the scale of activity that our community needs. Not only do we need an increase in stock and an increase in investment in the refurbishment of existing stock; we need wraparound services to reflect the complex needs of those who are seeking these housing services. I commend this motion to the House and I call on the government to undertake a much bolder and more coordinated plan of activity in order to assist those vulnerable people in our community inflicted by this scourge. (Time expired)

Vince Connelly (Stirling, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We hear a lot about the total number of homeless fellow Australians, and it's easy to forget that every single number reflects a tragic situation impacting an individual and, of course, their family. Let me share with you just one example. Thankfully, this example also has a positive outcome. For the last couple of years I have volunteered as an associate board member of the veterans transition centre located in Jarrahdale in WA. This centre provides a beautiful bush location where veterans and their families can spend time together participating in a growing range of proactive programs. The great majority of veterans transition to civilian life in excellent health and with skills and attitudes that enable them to contribute to both businesses and, of course, society.

However, some do struggle, and one such veteran got in touch with the transition centre a couple of months ago. Initially for this homeless veteran the veteran transition centre, the VTC, was able to provide short-stay accommodation. Whilst the veteran was there, he jumped in and helped with the maintenance of some of the log cabins and other facilities. Within a couple of weeks, a fellow veteran, Karyn Hinder, through her agency Working Spirit, was able to find a FIFO mining job for the veteran. With his feet back on the ground, the veteran sent his first pay cheque back to his former wife and children, from whom he was separated, and then his next pay cheque went to securing a rental property. Now he has started to volunteer his time back at the veteran transition centre, giving back to those veterans who have hit hard times or just need to spend time away from the city.

But not everyone has the supporting resources around them to overcome homelessness, so we need to continue to identify organisations that are providing solutions and back them in. Whilst we continue to require reactive services, prevention is far better than cure. In the coalition, we know that the best form of welfare is of course a job, and a job significantly mitigates the risk of homelessness. The Morrison government has a proven track record of creating 1½ million jobs since coming to government, and has pledged to create another 1.25 million more in the next term. Moving the dial on homelessness has the best chance of success under a model of cooperation between all three tiers of government. However, in WA, although federal funding for homeless services is growing, state Labor have reduced funding for these services. They've also increased fees for utilities and services, adding $850 to households budgets. These mean-spirited actions come as the number of Western Australians who have nowhere to live is at a record high with around 9,000 homeless and 14,000 on the housing waiting list. State Labor have also still not released a homelessness strategy, despite the hardworking advocacy of the shadow minister for homelessness, Tony Krsticevic MLA. By comparison to Labor, the former coalition government in WA expanded funding in 2016-17 for homelessness and domestic violence accommodation and support services to $82 million.

The federal government has made combating homelessness a priority. Luke Howarth, Assistant Minister for Community Housing, Homelessness and Community Services, is leading the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement, providing $1.5 billion a year to help state and territory governments tackle homelessness. In 2019-20, the government will invest around $4.6 billion in Commonwealth rent assistance to help Australians on low to moderate incomes pay their rent. The government is also providing $78 million for the 'safe places' package to ensure women and children who are experiencing domestic violence have a safe place to sleep.

There are great examples happening in local electorates too—like my electorate of Stirling, where the city of Stirling is really pitching in for its Meals on Wheels program; or Uniting Aid, where I visited recently, who are providing food, support, counselling and other services. These are positive examples, upon which we need to continue building, so that we can collectively move the dial on homelessness, helping our fellow Australians who are most in need.

Chris Hayes (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is well known that homelessness is on the rise. More than 116,000 people live without a safe, secure place to call home. James Toomey, CEO of Mission Australia, stated:

Let us not forget that behind those numbers are thousands of men, women and children who are living in the most precarious situations, forced to sleep on the street, or in a car, or on a couch at a friend's house or live in severely over crowded dwellings.

His words succinctly put into perspective the distressing and desperate situation faced by many Australians affected by homelessness.

While homelessness and housing instability are very real problems across the nation, it is particularly dire in my electorate of Fowler, where we are overrepresented with disadvantaged people, and particularly, people living in vulnerable situations. Issues such as mental health, disability, unemployment, relationship breakdowns, substance abuse, gambling addiction and, in particular, domestic violence all play a very significant role with respect to homelessness. Sadly, I see this disproportionately occurring in my community. The constituents that come to my office are dealing with very complex and multifaceted issues. Researchers have found that women and children are at a heightened risk of homelessness as a result of domestic violence. Tracy Phillips, the executive officer for Bonnie Support Services, a remarkable organisation in my community, sheds light on the interrelationship between domestic violence and homelessness when she said:

Women escaping domestic violence and family violence are struggling to find permanent, affordable and sustainable housing. Our society has a serious division between those with, and those without, permanent housing.

For communities like mine, particularly where the housing demand is high and public housing lists are long, the only real answer to our homelessness crisis—as Tracy Phillips put it to me—is to emphasise we do, desperately, need an increase in social housing stock. Our local service providers are struggling to keep up with the demand for crisis accommodation and transitional housing. Nevertheless, they continue to do a fantastic job, day in, day out, in addressing homelessness and addressing many of the other issues and challenges that come along—not only putting a roof over people's heads.

Recently, I met with Pastor David Delany of the Fairfield branch of the Salvation Army, which administers a number of great programs to address the issue of homelessness and housing affordability in my area. One of the things they do is called 'Soup Kitchen 473', an initiative of the Salvos which aims to provide meals to those doing it tough. The Salvos also run the Moneycare program to help those who are struggling to best handle their financial matters.

The Good Samaritan Aid Society is another organisation that is making a difference for the better in the community by working with many homeless individuals not only in my area but across New South Wales. The most recent initiative of the Good Samaritan Aid Society is called Food Angel. It aims to provide weekly hampers to help individuals who are experiencing difficulties when it comes to housing and the high pressures of everyday living. Feeding Heart is another program initiated by the Good Samaritan Aid Society, which administers help to those affected by homelessness. The program, which has been running for the past three years, has been providing nutritious meals to homeless people in the Liverpool and Fairfield areas. This is all thanks to Bishop Mari Emmanuel and his team of volunteers at the St Shimun and St Marys Church.

I also take this opportunity to congratulate the Wattle Grove Lions Club for the inspiring work they are doing in supporting women and children escaping domestic violence. The Wattle Grove Lions Club have partnered with Masterton Homes to build crisis accommodation in our regions to support domestic violence victims. This is a momentous achievement, and shows what can be done through cooperation and thinking outside the square. Access to affordable and safe, sustainable housing is a basic human right, and clearly there is much more that this government can be doing to address housing inequity and homelessness now that it has reached a crisis point. Simply put: we're a wealthy country and homelessness should be completely unacceptable in a country like Australia.

Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Community Housing, Homelessness and Community Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Macnamara for bringing this private members bill to the chamber. It's an important issue, and one close to my heart given my new position as Assistant Minister for Community Housing, Homelessness and Community Services. After the recent election, Prime Minister Morrison appointed me to this position, as the first assistant minister with community housing and homelessness in their title, to work under cabinet minister Senator Anne Ruston, the social services minister. He also created a separate housing ministry under Minister Sukkar. I think that shows that the government is taking this issue very seriously. I asked the Prime Minister, 'What do we want to get done here?' He has a very caring nature, and he really wants to make a difference in helping people who are homeless and helping people who are on low incomes and finding it difficult to find sustainable long-term housing. Constitutionally, this space has traditionally been an area that state governments have been responsible for, and that continues to remain the case, but the federal government can help—and we are helping already, with more than $6 billion invested through the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement, through Commonwealth rent assistance.

The member for Stirling spoke about the safe places package, which is currently open, and I'd encourage all members of this House—members of the opposition, members of the government and the crossbench—to talk to the providers in their electorates that provide services around domestic violence to make an application for the safe places package. We want to provide an additional 450 safe places for women and children fleeing domestic violence. The safe places package will open at the end of this month. All members in this House, if you're listening, at the end of this month the safe places package opens. It will close on 14 February, so those services have got a bit of time to get that in. We want to make sure new safe places are built right around the country.

A number of members spoke about the fact that social housing hasn't grown. There has been an underinvestment by state governments of all persuasions for a couple of decades now and funding isn't keeping pace with what is required. We're also seeing that a number of people move into social housing and they never get out of it. There needs to be more responsibility, I guess, from state governments to help people who are able to get back into the workplace to then move on from social housing so that it will provide a flowthrough effect for people currently on the waiting list. The government, of course, have a number of things that we're implementing as well, including the first home deposit scheme and the First Home Super Saver Scheme, to help people get into their own place. In particular, I want to thank the community housing sector for providing a lot of accommodation right throughout the country but particularly in New South Wales. They are helping people in private sector areas where there are high rents, particularly in Sydney, to have an affordable place to live.

In the last few months, one of my responsibilities has been the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement, so I've been meeting with state ministers around the country. In the last few weeks, I've met or spoken with Minister de Brenni, the Labor housing minister in Queensland; Minister Wynne, the Victorian housing minister; and Minister Tinley, the Western Australian minister. I've also met in this place with Minister Gerry McCarthy, the Northern Territory minister; Minister Jaensch, from Tasmania; and Minister Pavey.

When we look at homelessness, 10 per cent of people who are homeless are rough sleepers. That means that 90 per cent of homeless people have a roof over their heads. I think a lot of members don't know that. I know that many people would think, in relation to homelessness, that it's only rough sleepers. But, as a number of members have already said, it's boarding houses, it's transitional housing, it's couch surfing and it's overcrowding. Every state has different issues. In Tasmania, rough sleepers, particularly around Hobart, are an issue. But, in the Northern Territory, of the 13,000 homeless people, for 11,000 the problem is overcrowding. A lot of those are in Indigenous places. I've written to every member and senator in this place explaining that, and I look forward to working with others, particularly our Indigenous members, to work out ideas around overcrowding and cultural sensitivities there.

Melissa McIntosh (Lindsay, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As part of the Morrison government's plan for Lindsay, we're backing hardworking Australians to unlock their potential, and we're supporting housing availability and accessibility as Western Sydney grows. I would like the thank the member for Macnamara for bringing the private member's bill to the House. I, too, am passionate, just like Assistant Minister Howarth is, about affordability and, in particular, helping the community sector grow to scale to be able to provide more housing for people across Western Sydney. I've worked in the social housing sector and I've worked with people experiencing homelessness—people who are trying to get back on their feet, get into a secure home and get a job.

I know that getting into the housing market is critical to having financial security. The Morrison government is committed to working with the community housing sector. Just this morning, we had a meeting with Wendy Hayhurst, the CEO of the Community Housing Industry Association. We want to make sure that they're getting everything they need to do their job well. Wendy spoke about the growing affordable housing industry and affordable housing sector, including in Western Sydney. I was very fortunate to attend the opening of Evolve's new community housing in Penrith with Minister Sukkar, the Minister for Housing. One of the key things here, as we look at how having affordable housing can make people feel more secure and able to get a job, is that we also have to acknowledge that there are barriers to people having lifelong tenure in community housing. This is one of the barriers to people having that incentive to get back on their feet. When I worked in the community housing sector, we looked at how we support women who want to get back on their feet financially and get financial security so they have housing independence—women who had experienced domestic violence and women who had experienced intergenerational welfare. One of the biggest barriers we have in community housing and social housing is that lifetime tenure. People don't want to get out of social housing unless they have incentives to do so.

The Morrison government's First Home Loan Deposit Scheme is also helping other people across my electorate of Lindsay to buy their first home, supporting 10,000 first home buyers each financial year by guaranteeing eligible homebuyers on low and middle incomes, so they can purchase their first home with a deposit of as little as five per cent. Many hardworking Australians are only locked out of this financial security by the barrier of a 20 per cent deposit. We're backing them in and rewarding their hard work by breaking down this barrier.

The Morrison government is also unlocking the potential of our diverse and vibrant community with a $5.3 billion infrastructure investment into Western Sydney. This is about 11,000 jobs during the building of the Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport. This is about 28,000 jobs when the airport opens. There will be demand in Western Sydney for skills in science, technology, engineering, space and advanced manufacturing. If we want our kids to stay in Western Sydney to be educated and trained in the jobs of the future, we will also need to help them fulfil their aspiration of working hard and owning their own home, and that is why it is so important to have these policies.

The Morrison government is committed to backing hardworking people in Western Sydney and across Australia by helping them reach their aspiration of their very first home by delivering complementary incentives to reduce pressure on housing affordability and to support local communities. The government is investing $1 billion in local infrastructure to unlock new housing supply in partnership with local councils through the National Housing Infrastructure Facility and is releasing suitable Commonwealth land for more housing opportunities. As I said, our First Home Super Saver scheme helps Australians build their deposit for a first home inside their superannuation by making voluntary contributions. These incentives delivered by the Morrison government have helped thousands of first homebuyers to get on to the first rung of the property ladder and to enter the market. In the past year alone, more than 110,000 people have bought their first homes, the highest number since 2009. We are contributing alongside state and territory governments to support a sustainable community housing sector with almost $6 billion in federal funding to improve housing outcomes, are helping 1.3 million Australians pay their rent with $4.6 billion in Commonwealth rent assistance and helping those who do it tough with more than $1.5 billion each year through the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement. I acknowledge Assistant Minister Howarth on the hard work he is doing in this space. The Morrison government has a proven track record of delivering a strong economy, of delivering the essential services Australians rely on and of providing greater housing accessibility and availability.

Peta Murphy (Dunkley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In Frankston, there are 2,090 social housing dwellings, yet, at the same time, there are more than 2,000 households on the social housing waiting list for the Frankston area. We can be in no doubt; there is a real and growing crisis in affordable housing, in affordable rent and, commeasurably, in homelessness in our country, and I'm sad to say that crisis has touched my electorate of Dunkley. In my area, anyone who walks around the streets can see there has been a visible increase in the number of people sleeping rough. But, of course, they're just the people that we can see. There are many, many more people who are in precarious and unsafe housing, who are couch surfing, who are staying in people's backyards, who are jumping from home to home, and who are having their income gouged by rooming houses where they're not safe. These rooming houses have sprung up across Dunkley and in many other places to fill the gap in affordable housing.

In my electorate, there's no youth crisis accommodation, no youth transitional housing. Some 4,000 young people aged 15 to 24 years in the Bayside Peninsula area were accessing homelessness and support services in a year. Of these some 4,000 young people, twice as many are women as men. It's not just young women who are disproportionately impacted by the crisis in affordable housing and homelessness we're experiencing in this country. On census night, 61 per cent of people supported by specialist homelessness services were female. Women's homelessness rose 27 per cent between 2001 and 2016. Almost 50,000 Australian women experienced homelessness on census night in Australia in 2016. We are a rich country. We are a successful country. That is not a number that we can be proud of and it's not a number that can continue. Because it's not just a number; it's people. Almost 50,000 women experiencing homelessness on one night is not acceptable. Every day, Australian homelessness services turn away 155 women because of a lack of affordable houses. Women over 55 are the fastest growing cohort of people experiencing homelessness in Australia. Women who have worked all their lives, women who have taken time out of the workforce to care for their children, single parents, decent Australians—women over 55 who are homeless. We cannot stand for this. We cannot let it continue.

During the election campaign, I met two gorgeous women, Pat and Coral, who live in Carrum Downs. Were it not for Haven; Home, Safe, they would have continued to be part of the large group of Australians over 65 paying unaffordable rents—a group which has increased by 42 per cent since 2011. Pat and Coral are great, decent Australians who would have been on the brink of homelessness had it not been for Haven; Home, Safe, who have been working in the area of providing affordable housing and transitional housing for vulnerable Australians for 40 years. One of their developments which is almost finished is in Carrum Downs in my electorate, the Wattlewood development. It has been built by a terrific local business, Bevnol Homes. It is an $80 million-plus private property development with 237 lots of residential subdivisions and 100 new affordable housing units, and it will be open next year.

We need more of these sorts of developments. We need a real plan from the federal government to support the construction of affordable homes, to support build-to-rent construction. It's not enough just to talk about putting a positive spin on homelessness. It's not enough to say, 'If you have a go, you get a go.' We need a federal government that will invest in affordable housing, support people like Pat and Coral and support organisations like Haven; Home, Safe to continue to do the terrific work to help people in my electorate and across the country.

Trent Zimmerman (North Sydney, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.