Penny Wright (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I note that last week, from 6 to 12 August 2012, it was National Homeless Persons Week and on any given night in Australia approximately 105,000 people are experiencing homelessness. We know that mental illness is both a cause and a consequence of homelessness, and the Australian Council of Social Service Australian Community Sector Survey 2012recently highlighted the availability of secure and affordable housing, care and treatment for mental illness as being the greatest areas of need for people experiencing poverty and disadvantage in Australia. Notwithstanding the minister's comments, we are calling on the government to consider and respond to the underfunding, the funding uncertainty and the unmet need in the homelessness and mental health sectors which were identified in that survey and have continually been identified to a further extent to deal with this debilitating problem that faces so many people in Australia today.

Question agreed to.