Libby Coker (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Distressingly, in recent months I've seen a significant increase in the number of women in a desperate state because they can no longer afford a roof over their heads: women with young children forced into homelessness and couch surfing, middle-aged women begging for scarce beds in homeless shelters or sleeping in their cars, women of all ages left vulnerable to homelessness. These women are contacting my office in desperate need of help. The lack of affordable and social housing for people on low incomes has reached crisis point in my electorate of Corangamite, and this has been exacerbated by the pandemic. Housing prices have skyrocketed in my electorate, with people flocking to escape Melbourne during COVID. They're taking advantage of low interest rates and buying local properties, but the property frenzy is driving up property prices and ultimately squeezing the most vulnerable people out of their rental homes. The availability of affordable housing for people seeking to work in the region is also becoming a massive issue, especially in coastal towns like Apollo Bay, Lorne, Anglesea and Torquay. It's particularly challenging for our tourism and hospitality sector to attract casuals when there is little accommodation, but it is those people living on very modest incomes—perhaps living on benefits such as disability support or Veterans' Affairs pensions—who are hurting the most. They can no longer afford escalating rents.

Next week, I'll be visiting the local Salvation Army to see for myself the work this organisation is doing to support people in need. Sadly, the Salvos and other organisations are swimming against a massive tide. Data from G21, an alliance of local governments, shows the region needs an extra 6,000 new social housing residences. Similar situations exist right across our nation, yet data released in August by Homelessness Australia shows the Morrison-Joyce government's investment in social housing and homelessness has dropped dramatically. When Labor left office in 2013, the federal government committed $2 billion a year for social and Indigenous housing and homelessness. Adjusted for inflation and population growth, that is about $2.7 billion today. This financial year the Morrison-Joyce government has only budgeted to spend $1.6 billion. That's a massive cut. In contrast, an Albanese Labor government would create the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund to build 20,000 social housing properties, with 4,000 of those properties for women and children fleeing family violence and older women at risk of homelessness. There could be no starker difference. While the Morrison-Joyce government has turned its back on our most vulnerable Australians, Labor is working hard to reduce homelessness across Australia.