Steve Fielding (Victoria, Family First Party) Share this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Earlier this year the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare released a report showing that in 2006-07 almost 70,000 children went with their parents into crisis centres for the homeless. That figure is up almost 30 per cent from the previous year. More than two-thirds of the children sleeping in crisis accommodation were under 12 years of age. The average age was just six years old. Most of the school-age kids were not attending school. Isn’t cutting welfare payments for parents whose kids cannot get to school because of homelessness going to make the problem even worse?