East Gippsland Nationals MP, Tim Bull has asked the State Minister for Housing to release the Government’s plans on what it is doing in the short term to address the increasing number of people facing homelessness not only in East Gippsland, but state-wide.
Mr Bull said he was aware of the Government’s investment, titled the Big Housing Build, that will realise around 12,000 homes when completed in four years’ time, but said the reality is that the housing waiting list presently sits at in excess of 64,000 with 36,000 of those being on the priority list.
“Therefore, we need to know what is being done to address the short-term immediate urgency for housing and the increasing numbers of people needing support. As a Parliament, regardless of political party, we should be working together on this.
“I appreciate there’s complexities as the advice is not to create housing clusters, but we need to look at what can be done and review whether decisions of recent times have been effective.
“For example, I am fully aware changes to tenancy laws saw many landlords leave the rental market as, rightly or wrongly, they felt the scales were tipped too far.
“Other discussions can be around improved scope for rental subsidies, increased budget capacity for expanded use of motel accommodation for those in need of short-term emergency accommodation, the allocation of more areas serviced by toilets and showers, fitting out and use of unused buildings or any other measures that may help,” he said.
“However, what we do need to do is work together as, with rising interest rates, gas prices, increased food and petrol costs, the situation is likely to become worse.
“Even a Parliamentary Committee with a short timeframe has the capacity to investigate the situation and offer reasonable solutions and recommendations, reporting back to Parliament within weeks.
“Whatever the outcome, we need to know what the Government has planned to address these matters as it is clear, even through the traffic in my office, more and more people in our communities are facing homelessness due to rising costs of living which they have no control over and cannot afford. Let’s work together as the Parliament should to find ways to improve our response,” he said.
Monday, 6 February 2023
