Charities call for massive social housing investment

The number of people sleeping rough has jumped as home prices and rents soar.

Aug 1 2021  New Daily.

At least 650,000 new social housing residences are urgently needed as the nation’s affordability crisis creeps towards middle Australia, St Vincent de Paul Society says.

Vinnies’ national council president Claire Victory believes the great Australian dream is fast moving beyond the reach of minimum income earners, placing pressure on a limited, overheated rental market.

She says more than 116,000 people sleep rough across the country every night, and with stagnated wages and real estate prices continuing to soar the federal government needs to intervene as a matter of urgency.

The call coincides with the launch of National Homelessness Week.

“The Society has repeatedly called for the federal government to establish a social housing fund of $10 billion to augment the efforts of the states and territories to address the chronic and growing shortage,” Ms Victory said.

“Homelessness is no longer that stereotypical person sleeping rough.

‘It’s people like you and me, just one life event away from a devastating change in circumstances – illness including mental ill health, relationship breakdown, loss of a spouse, domestic violence or the loss of a job.”

Senior women hardest hit
Older women are now the fastest growing group of people facing homelessness. Those who don’t own their own home and are affected by domestic violence are particularly vulnerable.

Of 74,000 rental listings in Anglicare’s 2021 annual survey, only three were affordable for a person on Jobseeker and none for a person on Youth Allowance. 

At the same time, two thirds of 170,000 vulnerable private renters are currently in rental stress with less than $250 a week to live on after paying rent.

“Governments have left housing to the market and the market has failed,” Ms Victory said.

“In the face of the economic facts, it’s difficult to understand the lack of political will to invest urgently.”

She says high housing costs suppress demand for other goods and services while supported housing saves $13,100 per person annually in net reduced use of government services.

Amid COVID lockdown in NSW, Mission Australia is meanwhile urging those experiencing homelessness to accurately record their living situation on Census night, August 10, so the severity of the issue is represented.

Five years ago, the 2016 Census showed 116,427 people across the country were without a safe, secure place to sleep at night.

However Mission Australia CEO James Toomey says contrary to perceptions, homelessness goes beyond those sleeping on the streets or in cars, with rough sleepers only representing seven per cent of those counted.

“The bigger picture is that most people and families experiencing homelessness are hidden from plain sight,” he said.

“We know from the most recent Census data that the majority are living in severely crowded dwellings, couch surfing temporarily with friends or family, or living in crisis accommodation, a shelter, refuge or boarding house.”

white knight,

you are ALWAYS calling on governments to spend more on EVERYTHING.

governments wont tax people because they lose elections.

so they just print more money.

that is THE DEFINITION of INFLATION.

and inflation means PRICES GO UP.

if you are rich.that great, your assets go up in value.

if you are poor, youre screwed ,  the cost of living (THINGS LIKE RENTS) go up.


repeat after me

i will NEVER EVER ASK FOR MORE GOVERNMENT SPENDING AGAIN 

Everybody wants something for nothing.

Just work, save and buy a house you can afford.
Upgrade after you pay it off if you can.
Just give up the fags,  grog, new cars and clubs.
Spend wisely and move into an area you can afford.

All my kids bar 1 own their own homes.
And the one that hasn't yet has a sizable deposit
They just want to work out where they want to live.

Kat wrote on Aug 2^nd, 2021 at 8:09pm:


Would YOU invest in housing under such conditions if you had the capital?


No.


Socialism is for idiots.

chimera wrote on Aug 2^nd, 2021 at 5:35pm:


Following the huge fires, there were several companies and individuals who designed and built 'instant' accommodation.  Some of them are ingenious, and only required funding.

Nobody came on board... just like everything else that should have been learned from those fires.  We still don't have dedicated water bombers, despite Scotty's Sunday night once only announcement that he would procure those...

At least one firm on Lake Macquarie is rebuilding surplus Hueys as water bombers...

Guess I'll have to re-boot the Brass Razoo Foundation to procure water bombers and support them and their crews.  As I said - there are countless pilots out there looking for a job while our government says they are in short supply and thus are listed on the 'urgent' professions required for immigration.     You know - like hydro engineers and nurses and engineers and such.....     

Grappler Truth Teller Feller wrote on Aug 3^rd, 2021 at 1:03am:



incorrect.

the market is the market.

when scomo prints 1 trillion dollars for covid testing , jobkeeper paymnts, the NDIS , whatever.

that money is IN the economy.

now it very quickly passes thru the hands of people like white knight and then it is LOOKING for a target to BID UP.

that would be real estate and stocks.

the real estate market in OZ is up 15 % since covid started, as is the stock market.

in america, the top end is so awash with trump and biden stimulus spending that corporations (like walmart and amazon) are buying residential real estate to rent out.

why would it be any other way?

covid demolishes commercial inner city real estate and shopping malls (people work from home and shop online) and the beneficiaries like google, facebook, amazon, apple set up trust funds to buy up residential real estate .

when you beg governments to mail you a cheque, just remember to read the fine print

Kat wrote on Aug 2^nd, 2021 at 8:09pm:



what is the difference? In Canberra you lease the land, not buy it, and the reality is that there is no difference to how it affects the market. Property in Canberra is just as expensive as it is in other similar sized cities..

John Smith wrote on Aug 3^rd, 2021 at 5:44pm:


It should be obvious - ownership remains in Australia, by Australians.

For people who are always whinging about 'foreigners owning more of
the country than us' you'd think most Aussies would understand and
support such an initiative.

But instead they attack anyone who dares to suggest it.