Page 2104 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 6 August 2014
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The estimates committee heard that one in two people are turned away from services. Homelessness is a moral blight on our society. I am sure we all agree it is not acceptable that people in our city are unable to obtain safe and secure accommodation for themselves and their families. Yet despite all of us agreeing on this, the problem continues. This indicates the complexity of this issue. It is a multifaceted challenge and it needs a multipronged approach; none of us would claim to have all the answers.
When we are thinking about those experiencing homelessness and what actions need to be taken, we need to also take time to think about the effect this has on society in its entirety. Homelessness causes devastating personal harm and ultimately impacts on society and creates a significant cost to government. Take the health system, for example. One in three people experiencing homelessness present at an emergency department in a year, much higher than the general rate of only 13 per cent of people across Australia. It is around 33 per cent for those who are experiencing homelessness. Over a six-month period, on average, a quarter of people experiencing homelessness were charged with a criminal offence. One in three people in prison reported being homeless in the month leading up to their offence. We have also heard many times about the homelessness issues facing people who are leaving prison and other care situations. Statistics clearly show that those who do not have adequate stable accommodation are more likely to be unemployed and are far less likely to be able to hold down a job, if they have one, when they enter into homelessness.
High rates of homelessness indicate that housing is unaffordable or inaccessible. The solution to homelessness lies in the provision of more affordable housing and bridging the gap between social housing and the private market. The government needs to work to increase the supply of affordable housing in the ACT and make housing more affordable. I was pleased that the commonwealth government renewed funding for the national partnership agreement on homelessness for another year, but we cannot rely solely on commonwealth programs and funding; we must do everything we can as a territory government to help out vulnerable members of our society.
Recently, Minister Barr spoke at ACT Shelter about the need for more affordable housing, which is positive, and I agree. But at that time he did not mention the supports required to enable people to sustain their tenancies and leave the cycle of homelessness. That is vital for long-term solutions. Simply putting a roof over people’s heads does not necessarily address the structural drivers behind why they became homeless in the first place.
My motion today in the Assembly is not a partisan motion; it is something that all members of this Assembly should be able to agree on. I genuinely believe we want to reduce and prevent homelessness; we can all acknowledge that there is an issue of homelessness in the ACT; and we all need to continue to work to resolve the issue, as well as addressing the underlying structural causes of homelessness. I call on the government today to make this issue a priority for them. I commend the motion to the Assembly.
MR BARR (Molonglo—Deputy Chief Minister, Treasurer, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Housing and Minister for Tourism and Events) (3.32):
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