Justine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) recognises that:

(a) over 105,000 Australians are currently defined as homeless throughout the nation;

(b) on any given night this translates to 1 in 200 Australians homeless or sleeping rough; and

(c) great work is done by organisations such as Homelessness Australia and countless local charities in their support for homeless people right across the country; and

(2) notes that:

(a) the current Government has made significant cuts to front line youth services putting more young people at the risk of homelessness;

(b) the current Government has made significant cuts to domestic violence services putting more woman and children at risk of homelessness; and

(c) more needs to be done to address homelessness in Australia.

I rise today to speak on the very shocking fact that at this present moment over 105,000 people within Australia are defined as experiencing homelessness. That is a huge number. It is indeed a very sad indictment on our nation. In fact, if you break down that very large number it translates into one in 200 Australians—men, women and children—on any one night who are experiencing homelessness to some degree. That figure does in fact take into account everything from sleeping rough in our cities and towns across the nation right through to people who are forced to rely on others or who may be couch surfing. It encompasses all of those particular situations.

All ages and backgrounds are vulnerable to homelessness; however, some are more vulnerable to this than others. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, for instance, account for over a quarter of all Australians who are experiencing homelessness, despite making up only 2.5 per cent of the population.

What is also very disturbing is the ever-increasing number of women and children who are experiencing or are at risk of homelessness. The single biggest cause of this is domestic violence. Can I say as a former police officer I witnessed such outcomes firsthand, all too often in relation to women and children who were fleeing domestic violence situations. The reality for many women and children is that they do become homeless because they have no other options in those situations. That is why, particularly in my area, the North Coast of New South Wales, there has been a lot of criticism of the New South Wales government's cuts to services that provide support for victims of domestic violence. Indeed, it is why there has been so much criticism of the Abbott government's cuts to community services and to services for those who have been impacted by domestic violence.

Quite frankly, the statistics on homelessness are shocking and alarming, with women, children and younger people being disproportionately represented, but in saying that I would like to acknowledge the work by many organisations throughout the country, such as Homelessness Australia. I especially acknowledge the many groups in my electorate of Richmond who respond to this problem in our communities on a daily and nightly basis. Some of those individuals and groups are Dennis Pommer and Lunch with Friends, John Lee and You Have A Friend, Tweed Valley Women's Service, St Vincent de Paul and the Salvation Army. They do an incredible job assisting people who are homeless or are at risk of becoming homeless. Also, I wish to acknowledge groups such as Byron Community Centre, Byron Youth Service and the Cottage Drop-in Centre, which also do really committed and important work for the people at risk of homelessness on the North Coast.

We have also seen the impact of the Abbott governments cruel cuts in relation to youth services, particularly at the Byron Youth Service. Cuts to funding programs like Youth Connections, mean that that service may have to close. People are so reliant on that service. Now the Byron Youth Service is desperately raising money through the community, but they should not have to do that. This government has no plans to replace programs like Youth Connections, which is a really important program that really does help younger people in so many ways, particularly in finding other ways for them to finish year 12. Other participants, who are now engaged in study or work after they have completed that program, have had a great success rate.

When you talk to service providers around the country they will tell you a number of things in relation to homelessness. They will tell you that the Abbott government, and its cruel cuts to youth services, particularly domestic violence prevention programs, is pushing ever-increasing numbers of people towards homelessness and marginalisation. As I have said, cuts we have seen on the North Coast have meant many of those organisations are close to closing their doors. We have had many service providers tell us that the Abbott government must act immediately and work with the states and territories to implement policies and programs to increase the supply of affordable and social housing stock across Australia. Instead, the government is cutting all these programs and cutting measures designed to address a significant and growing reality of homelessness. They are hurting those that are most vulnerable within our community, particularly with their cuts to family violence services and to homelessness and crisis accommodation services across the country. Altogether, those cuts are worth a staggering $300 million. That is a huge cut that we are seeing to some vitally important services.

The fact is more, not less, needs to be done to reduce homelessness in this country. The government needs to stop cutting services and start doing more. It should be listening to all those service providers right across the country. It should provide funding for emergency support and crisis service, but it also needs funding to reduce some of the causes of homelessness as well. It requires a really complex approach to address all of those issues. So I call on the government to do a lot more and to do that right now. (Time expired)

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