Constituency questions
Ringwood electorate
Will FOWLES (Ringwood) (14:49): (1280) My constituency question is to the Minister for Housing and Building. Minister, in the past 12 months how many people in the Ringwood electorate have had to be placed in hotels or motels because no other emergency accommodation was available in the area? Housing providers across the eastern suburbs report that hotels and motels are increasingly used as overflow due to a severe shortage of proper crisis beds. These placements are costly, lack the wraparound supports people in crisis need and often leave vulnerable families, including women and children, unsafe. Without adequate support, people living in unstable housing are caught in a dangerous, repetitive cycle of homelessness with little chance of escape. This stark reality shows we urgently need greater investment in crisis accommodation. In Ringwood and the surrounding areas homelessness services cannot continue relying on models but need secure and supported emergency housing.