Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The homelessness crisis in Tasmania continues to worsen under the Hodgman and Morrison Liberal governments. The state government has failed to address the crisis adequately, and Tasmanians have been shivering through the winter. There are 3,300 people waiting on the public housing register. The Hodgman government either is out of ideas or simply doesn't care about the Tasmanians who find themselves in the unfortunate circumstance of being homeless.

Like most Liberal governments, this Hodgman government has an abhorrent 'nothing to see here' attitude. Mr Hodgman is, of course, known for being the good news premier. He doesn't like challenges or problems; he just wants good news above all else. Then we have the Minister for Housing, Roger Jaensch, who is not only inept but completely incompetent. He doesn't have the capacity to address this problem, let alone solve it. The minister is not up to the job. You just have to look at the worsening of the crisis to see that.

Wendy Askew (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Colbeck on a point of order?

Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is one of the courtesies that we pay in this place to refer to colleagues in this place and other places by their correct name. If Senator Polley would like to pronounce Minister Jaensch's name properly, it would be appreciated.

Wendy Askew (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will just ask Senator Polley to take note of that. Thank you.

Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister is not up to the job. You just have to look at the worsening of the crisis to see that. If there were an award for ministerial incompetence, Mr Jaensch would get first-class honours. Melissa Price would be a very close second. You just have to watch question time in the House of Assembly to see Mr Jaensch struggle to answer a simple question. Frankly, it is almost painful to watch him try to answer a question.

Homelessness is on the rise, and it's affecting not just my home state of Tasmania but other states as well. To put this issue into context, I want to list some of the very frightening statistics regarding this issue. It's estimated that there are over 116,450 Australians who are homeless and needlessly suffering tonight, and over 50,000 Australians will literally sleep on the streets this year. There's not enough shelter in Australia, and governments of all persuasions have ignored the basic human right of having a warm, safe place to live. Over the last few years, there's been an increase of 20.4 per cent in the number of people sleeping on the streets across Australia. Women aged over 55 are the fastest-growing group of homeless Australians. One in 201 Australians are currently homeless. In 2017-18, 44,116 people requesting short-term emergency accommodation did not receive any accommodation or were given only a referral. In 2017-18, 99,370 people needed long-term accommodation but did not receive any or were given only a referral. Nearly 60,000 of the homeless people are aged under 35 years. In 2018, two homeless men were tragically run over and killed by garbage trucks—one while sleeping in a Brisbane city laneway and another while sleeping in Sydney.

There are factors that contribute to being homeless. These include relationship breakdowns, financial hardship, mental health issues, or losing a job or a loved one. One or a combination of these factors can lead to someone becoming homeless. Sometimes homelessness can occur due to someone moving to a new area, losing their job and not having any support to help them. At other times, it could be something as simple as not being able to afford housing. Homelessness can affect anyone at any time. The tiniest life changes can cause someone to lose everything they have in the blink of an eye. It's a terrible place for anyone to be in, as you never know what will happen to you on the streets. Whatever the reason for their homelessness, Australians sleeping on our streets need immediate shelter to survive.

Accommodation is not the only need of families who experience homelessness. Aside from the obvious needs, such as employment, counselling and material aid, many families have a need for stability and support. Wherever possible, it's important to help those who find themselves experiencing homelessness to establish support networks within the local community and to put down roots. To fully address the issue of homelessness and to help create long-term stability, individuals must receive care that ranges from early intervention to crisis accommodation, medium-term care and a range of support and rehabilitation services. We need to do everything we can to keep children in the same schools and to help those families with their journeys.

I'm of the view that Australia needs to create a national leasing scheme for our homeless and perhaps consider the use of vacant office blocks and disused government infrastructure by converting those into social housing, as the Finnish and other European countries have accomplished. The placing of transportable units on vacant land and reforming tenancy laws would also work towards solving this easily repairable crisis. There are solutions, and this government has failed to find any of them. In particular, something that gets lost in this debate is the demographics of homelessness. Many women are the hidden homeless, often never seen, as they're in secret refuges, concealed in emergency shelters, couch-crashing in a friend's lounge room or seeking day-to-day shelter in cheap hotel rooms, caravan parks or even in their cars. These women are desperate to avoid sleeping on unprotected streets, where violence and the threat of violence is common.

Fearing for your very life on the street is perhaps one of the scariest circumstances any person could find themselves in. According to figures released by Homelessness Australia, domestic and family violence is the No. 1 reason that women seek specialist homeless services, with as many as 55 per cent of women highlighting domestic violence as their reason. For women who escape from this violence, the journey is only the beginning of a terrible nosedive into homelessness. Many realise that their desperate escape will only force them into financial chaos as well. Due to gender based workplace inequality, women on the whole earn less than men. They find it difficult to re-enter the workforce after having children and are reliant on part-time wages and parent payments to make ends meet. Seventy-five per cent of part-time workers are women. These are most certainly precursors for our homeless women.

I call on both the Hodgman government and the Morrison government to get their acts together and start feeling something not only for the Tasmanian homeless but also for the homeless across our country. The reality is that people are living on the streets, in cars or, if they're lucky, crashing on a couch. The indignity, the insecurity and the effect of homelessness on an individual should not be underestimated. The government can do better. We must do better. We can't afford to wait till a change in government, as this action is so is so desperately needed now. It's not just a political issue; it's one where we, as a rich country, should ensure that everyone has a safe place to sleep at night and a safe place for them to raise their families.