Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A recently released report from Homelessness Australia was appropriately entitled Overstretched and overwhelmed:the strain on homelessness services. It revealed a toxic combination of soaring rents and record low vacancy rates which is driving surging demand for homelessness services across Australia, with an increase of 7½ per cent between December last year and March this year. Shockingly, three-quarters are women and children.

Federal housing minister Julie Collins said the quiet thing out loud recently when she said, 'What we want to do is create social and affordable housing as asset and investment classes.' What a disgrace. That goes a fair way towards explaining Labor's woefully inadequate response to the housing and rental crisis. Homes are a human right, not an investment class. The federal government spends tens of billions every year to subsidise landlords and property speculators. The rich get richer and the poor end up on the streets.

The number of people experiencing housing and rental stress is unacceptable, and far too many are not getting the help they need because governments are not adequately funding homelessness support services. We must do much, much more to ensure everyone in this country has the safe and secure home that they deserve, and Labor can start by accepting the Greens demand to invest $2½ billion every year on public and social housing. That's a pittance compared to what the Labor Party gives to property speculators.