Thursday, 2 May 2019

Crisis accommodation

Dr RATNAM (Northern Metropolitan) (17:50): My adjournment matter tonight is for the Minister for Housing, and the action I seek is that the government take immediate steps to improve funding for crisis accommodation in Victoria. In February the Northern and Western Homelessness Networks released their report A Crisis in Crisis, detailing the appalling state of emergency accommodation in Melbourne’s northern and western suburbs. Victoria’s housing crisis means that more and more Melburnians are experiencing homelessness, and more of us are accessing housing support services, including seeking emergency accommodation. But the government currently provides funding for just 423 crisis beds, which is nowhere near enough to meet the growing demand.

To meet the gap, homelessness and family violence services have been left to rely on the private sector, purchasing rooms in motels and private rooming houses. The quality and conditions in these places are often very poor, with many service users reporting that they feel unsafe accessing the accommodation. People have reported theft, constant police presence at motels, broken facilities or a lack of facilities altogether and fears for their safety due to threats of violence and drug use. Some have reported that they returned to living in their cars or on the streets, finding it preferable to remaining in the available accommodation.

What service users clearly stated is that they want safer, secure, longer term accommodation, with support available when needed. Yet our housing crisis means that this is in short supply, as our public housing stock is woefully inadequate. Waitlists have skyrocketed, and rental affordability is at an all-time low. Victoria desperately needs a significant investment in public housing in order to provide enough secure, affordable housing for those who need it. But given that this government is unwilling to support our public housing sector, it now needs to provide enough funding for homelessness support services to assist all those who present to them. I urge the minister to immediately increase funding for crisis accommodation.