Constituency questions
South-West Coast electorate
Roma BRITNELL (South-West Coast) (14:33): (70) My constituency question is for the Minister for Housing, and the information I seek is details of what the minister is doing to address the rising issue of homelessness in South-West Coast. Over the past year the number of long-term South-West Coast residents contacting my office to express their frustration, fear and despair at their often-sudden homelessness is astounding. Responsible, gainfully employed, community-minded people have found themselves without a place to call home due to increasing rental prices and an overheated property market. Lives have been uprooted and social networks destroyed. Even disability support pensioners with comprehensive NDIS packages are now forced to live in cars. It is a disgrace. With the budget looming I urge the minister to allocate additional housing to South-West Coast, because the $25 million guaranteed for Warrnambool in 2020 will not even touch the sides.