Shelter NSW says the Senate Poverty Inquiry is right to fix the blame for housing stress on the federal government’s lack of interest in low-cost housing.
Shelter thoroughly endorses the Senate Poverty Inquiry recommendations for a national housing strategy and for more funding for social housing.
In Shelter’s view the Senate Community Affairs References Committee has also put the blame where it largely belongs: on the federal government’s lack of interest in low-cost housing, the absence of a national housing strategy and a decrease in the commonwealth’s funding of public housing stock.
Shelter is the peak non-government NSW agency representing the interests of low-income housing consumers.
“The Committee has taken on board what a very wide-range of community groups have been consistently calling for,” said Ms Mary Perkins, Executive Officer of Shelter NSW, today.
“There must be a national housing strategy., and it must take into account the impacts of housing stress on income, on employment, on health and on welfare.
“For years the government has been cutting back expenditure on social housing, while at the same time it has been increasing expenditure on rent assistance.
“For the first time for a parliamentary body, the committee has called for a re-examination of the effectiveness of rent assistance as against capital provision for public housing. Our own work clearly indicates that around 30 percent of people who get rent assistance are still in housing stress. And that doesn’t even include the working poor whom the committee has identified.
“The committee is absolutely right to call for more funding for maintenance of current housing stock, more funding for new public housing stock, and development of strategies to attract private investment into social housing.
“These should be applied as benchmarks to measure the housing policies of the parties standing in the coming federal election.”
Further contact: Mary Perkins, 9267 5733, h. 9365 1028, mob. 0419 919 091