Sunshine Coast MP Andrew Wallace believes a nationally-coordinated approach, with a focus on providing affordable housing, is required to combat homelessness.
Mr Wallace, the Federal Member for Fisher, is chair of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs, which has made 35 recommendations to address the issue.
The recommendations include a focus on prevention and early intervention and wider adoption of the ‘Housing First’ principle, which would see housing made available to people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness as an immediate priority.
The report also says new approaches are required to increase investment in social and affordable housing.
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The recommendations also include more crisis, emergency and transitional accommodation, improvements to data collection and reporting, and a new funding model to ensure that housing and homelessness services are provided to those most in need.
The committee urged governments to work together, with a 10-year national strategy.
“While the states and territories are responsible for housing and homelessness, a clear and consistent message to the committee was that there is a need for a national approach,” Mr Wallace said.
“A national strategy would lead to better coordination, more accountability and a stronger focus on the policies that work – prevention and early intervention, providing housing as a priority, and encouraging more investment in social and affordable housing.
“There is no quick fix to end homelessness in Australia, but the committee’s recommendations set out a way forward for all three levels of government to work together, alongside community organisations and the private sector, to achieve a real reduction in the number of people who are homeless or at risk.”
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Rising house prices and rents have only inflamed the dire situation on the Sunshine Coast, where established residents are battling to help some homeless people, while a local service provider recently warned that youth homelessness was escalating and help was needed.
Noosa Council recently called for an urgent report seeking solutions to the crisis.
“This week marks National Homelessness Week, which is a reminder that homelessness is all too common in Australia,” Mr Wallace said.
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“Each night, tens of thousands of Australians are without a place to call home, while many others are at risk of becoming homeless. We know that the impacts of homelessness can be profound and long-lasting.
The last national action plan was the The Road Home agenda drawn up in 2008, which called for halving overall homelessness and offering accommodation to all rough sleepers who needed it by 2020. The 2020 goals had not been achieved, the inquiry found.
A full copy of the committee’s report can be found on the inquiry’s website.
