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

Recently I had the opportunity to meet with a constituent of mine, Dr Gen Ford, the founder of Solo Advocacy Australia. This is a group dedicated to raising awareness of solo households and advocating equal recognition of their rights and needs.

In my electorate of Macnamara, 41.3 per cent of my constituents live in a solo person household, and that's almost double the state and national averages. There are many paths that lead to people living on their own. Some do so by choice, others by force of circumstance. For many, the solo life can be joyous and rich and fulfilling, but some struggle as they manage their finances, housing costs, health and wellbeing on their own. Solo people often find it more difficult to pay rent, and at the moment they're finding it particularly hard.

People who live in shared houses or with partners are able to maintain physical contact with people. During the pandemic, that was really difficult for people in solo households. Gen, with her advocacy, managed to accumulate a petition with over 25,000 signatures and was able to improve the pandemic legislation to include social bubbles for solo households.

I'm proud of the work that Solo Advocacy does for people. I'm proud of people who are living in solo houses. As they say, the solo life is inherently worthy and valuable. And we are proud to be associated with them.