Wednesday, 16 August 2023

Department of Treasury and Finance

Budget papers 2023–24

Wendy LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (17:30): I rise to talk on the state budget 2023–24, which raises the homelessness budget in Victoria. As everyone in this chamber would be aware, last week was national Homelessness Week. We recently had figures released from census night 2021 that just show how badly this government is doing in the delivery of services to those people who desperately need them: the vulnerable in our community who are homeless and who need access to social housing. Social housing waiting lists under this government have exploded. We know that. Social housing waiting times have exploded. Those on the priority list – people who are escaping domestic violence, people who are living with a disability, people who have special housing needs and people who are deemed to be in need of housing immediately – are waiting longer than ever under this government. We know that people who are escaping domestic violence have to wait 20.2 months to get access to housing. That is just the average; some of them are waiting a lot longer than that. For those in the other categories, it is 16.5 months.

What we have seen recently is the data released by local government area for homelessness in Victoria. In northern Victoria there were some really startling results. In Swan Hill the percentage of people on the homelessness list increased by 139 people to 234 people, an increase of 146.31 per cent, which was actually more than six times the state average, of 23.3 per cent and 28 times the national average, which increased by 5.2 per cent. That is a dreadful figure. In Mildura the figure increased to 348 people who are homeless. That was an increase of 98.85 per cent, which of course is more than four times the state average and 19 times the national average. In Greater Bendigo there was a staggering increase of 276 people, making it 571 homeless people, an increase of around 94 per cent, which was four times the state average of 23.3 per cent and 18 times the national average of 5.2 per cent. In Wangaratta we saw an increase of 50 people, bringing their homeless population up to 125 people, a 66 per cent increase, which was nearly three times the state average and also nearly 13 times the national average. In the Macedon Ranges we saw an increase of 24 people, a 40 per cent increase – higher than the state average, nearly twice that, and also nearly eight times the national average. In Wodonga there was an increase of 47 people, bringing it up to 215 people, an increase of 28 per cent – higher than the state average and of course five times the national average. In Greater Shepparton, where we actually knew that there were already the most homeless people in the state, they saw an increase of another 63 people, bringing it to 418 people who were homeless on census night in 2021 – a percentage increase of around 18 per cent, which was more than three times the national average. In the Strathbogie shire there was an increase of seven people, which is 26 per cent higher than the state average – again, multiple times the national average.

This government is failing people when it comes to the provision of social housing and it is failing people when it comes to keeping them safe and warm and in a home. This government need to realise that their policies are actually making it harder for vulnerable Victorians, not easier. They like to stand up and spruik about big housing builds, but the reality is: more people than ever are homeless under this government; more people are waiting longer than ever before for access to social housing.