Scott Ludlam (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the answer given by the Assistant Minister for Social Services (Senator Fifield) to a question without notice asked by Senator Ludlam today relating to homelessness.

I went back and a double-checked—the word 'housing' does not appear in the title of Minister Andrews. In the same way that we do not have a minister for science, we do not have a minister for housing. I want to get that very clearly on the record. The answer from Senator Fifield was profoundly disappointing, and this issue affects dozens and dozens of services. These are people on the front line who are providing homelessness and emergency support services either to the in excess of 10,000 people sleeping on the streets and in doorways and parks in this country or to those 100,000-odd Australians—it is difficult to know the exact number—who are suffering from different forms of homelessness and who are at risk, living in extremely precarious circumstances. Senator Fifield, again I give you a certain amount of latitude because you are here representing another minister, and it is not your portfolio—