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Australia needs a national strategy to tackle housing affordability
Across
Australia households are struggling to
pay rent or mortgage repayments. People on low incomes are particularly worse
off – paying more than 30% of their income on rent and often forced to live in
low-rent areas where jobs and transport are scarce. Over 100,000 Australians are
homeless. National action is needed to address the housing affordability crisis.
ACOSS and it members welcome the attention on affordable housing, particularly
the focus on low income and disadvantaged Australians, in today’s ALP National
Housing Affordable Summit. We also welcome the Labour Party’s commitment to
appoint a housing minister, establish a research council and a national housing
affordability agreement.
ACOSS
calls
upon all parties to:
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Appoint a Federal Cabinet
level Minister for Housing to drive forward the policies across all levels
of Government to increase housing affordability;
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Introduce a National Affordable
Rental Incentive (NARI) Scheme to provide incentives to increase private and
public investment in affordable housing;
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Increase funding
to progressively raise the availability of public and community housing
stock;
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Enure that rent
assistance best meets the needs for struggling renters and extending it to
low income people who currently miss out.
Andrew
Johnson, Executive Director, Australian Council of Social Service
If we value a fair go for
all Australia
then we urgently need a National
Affordable Housing Plan, the introduction of a National Affordable Rental
Incentive Scheme, and increases in the availability of public and community
housing.
Adrian Pisarski, Chair, National Shelter
The current housing crisis is at its most
severe for low income and disadvantaged Australians urgent action is required
beginning with a strategy to reinvest in social housing.
Carol Croce, Executive Officer,
Community Housing Federation of
Australia
Any strategy to
improve housing affordability must focus on the situation of low income renters
through increased investment in community housing and non for profit affordable
housing models.
Gordon Melsom, Executive Officer, Australian Federation of
Homelessness Organisations
Affordable housing is obviously part of
addressing the problem of homelessness but what is also needed is a holistic
range of support services to help people stay in that housing.
John Falzon, Chief Executive Office,
St Vincent De Paul National Council
Our members are
constantly coming across families forced to live in cars and caravans. How can
we ever be a clever country if we can not even house our most vulnerable people?
Major Brad Halse, Communications Director, Salvation Army
We welcome the
opportunity to engage with all levels of government to find urgent solutions for
the dire circumstances which Australia’s homeless find themselves in.
Eleri Morgan-Thomas,
National Manager Community Services,
Mission Australia
We can help our
clients avoid the spiral into homelessness if we ensure they can access
compassionate and affordable rental housing as part of a national housing
strategy.
ACOSS
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