Crossbench Comment: Tackling homelessness head on in New South Wales
October 2009
In recent months, we have seen the rate of family joblessness increase at a much faster pace than joblessness generally. According to Professor Peter Whiteford from the Social Policy Research Centre at the University of New South Wales, joblessness among families is one of the most significant problems facing Australian society. It is the most important cause of child poverty in Australia and is a major contributor to overall income inequality.
Jobless families include not only those who are unemployed but those not participating in the paid labour market. Around two-thirds of these families are lone parents, and more than 80 percent of lone parents are women.
In December 2007, the newly-elected Federal Labor Government established three new bodies: a Social Inclusion Unit within the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, a Social Inclusion Committee of Cabinet, and a Social Inclusion Board to advise the government on ways to combat economic and social disadvantage in Australia. The objective of "addressing the needs of jobless families with children" is listed first among the priorities on the social inclusion agenda.
As more and more families become unemployed and have no permanent source of income, we will see more and more people displaced from their homes and become homeless. It is a form of displacement that Australia has not seen since the Great Depression.
The "Known Territory" report by St Vincent de Paul found that charity services in regional cities and towns in New South Wales have experienced a threefold increase in demand for help from homeless people in the past two years. The surge in homeless people numbers has occurred in Katoomba, Nowra, Wollongong and Newcastle, places that were attractive to homeless people as they tried to escape the pressures of poverty in the city.
Many people who might in the past have found accommodation in caravan parks are now becoming homeless because many of these caravan parks have been sold for housing developments. In particular, an increasing number of homeless people are now sleeping permanently in their cars.
The need for beds is so great that some welfare groups, such as Newcastle"s Wesley City Mission, are giving away sleeping bags to everyday families who are unable to pay mortgages or rents and have nowhere else to go.
Moreover, the number of homeless teenagers aged 12 to 18 has doubled to 22,000 in the last two decades, according to the National Youth Commission"s (NYC) Australia"s Homeless Youth report. In total, at least 36,000 young people under 25 are homeless on any given night. The problem is so severe that 50 per cent of young people seeking a bed in supported accommodation are turned away because services are full.
In June 2009, over 200 CEOs and business leaders of Australia"s top corporations slept out in the cold and rain to experience what it would be like to have nothing. They bedded down on sheets of cardboard on the ground, some fashioning cardboard shelters complete with roof and walls. A small bowl of soup was all that was offered for dinner. No dessert, no pillow, and strictly no alcohol.
The CEO Sleepout was initiated by the St Vincent de Paul Society to coincide with the 2009 Winter Appeal. Aiming to raise money and raise awareness of the serious issue of homelessness, the event showcased that for over 100,000 men, women and children experiencing homelessness each night in Australia; is no light matter.
Australia"s most prominent business leaders that participated in the event include: Dick Smith, Fairfax CEO Brian McCarthy, NRMA"s Tony Stuart, InterContinental Hotels Group CEO Bruce McKenzie, as well as leaders from the Commonwealth Bank, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, and Sue Cripps of Homelessness NSW.
The Sleepout raised $615,000 for the St Vincent de Paul Society"s NSW"s homeless services. Its success is testament to the generosity and bravery of many business and community leaders who recognise that it is the community"s responsibility to combat homelessness.
On 2 August 2009, the Minister for Housing, David Borger, and the Minister for Community Services, Linda Burney, jointly launched a five year Homelessness Action Plan for 2009-14. This is the first time that New South Wales has ever had a comprehensive and integrated homelessness strategy that brings together all relevant programs and state government agencies.
Called A Way Home: Reducing Homelessness in NSW, the Plan outlines a series of strategies and actions to:
" Prevent homelessness: to ensure that people never become homeless;
" Respond effectively to homelessness: to ensure that people who are homeless receive effective responses so that they do not become entrenched in the system; and
" Break the cycle: to ensure that people who have been homeless do not become homeless again.
The Plan is the successful culmination of persistent lobbying by NCOSS, Homelessness NSW, the Youth Accommodation Association, and the Women"s Refuge Resource Centre, the Plan has three headline targets to be met by 2013:
" A reduction of 7 per cent in the overall level of homelessness in New South Wales;
" A reduction of 25 per cent in the number of people sleeping rough in New South Wales; and
" A reduction of one third in the number of Aboriginal people that are homeless in New South Wales
In terms of preventing homelessness, the priorities are: first, prevent evictions from all kinds of tenures; second, transition and maintain people existing statutory care, correctional and health facilities into appropriate long-term accommodation; and third, provide safe, appropriate long-term accommodation and/or support to people experiencing domestic and family violence, relationship and family breakdown, and at key transition points.
As part of the implementation of the Plan, the NSW Government will establish a Premier"s Council on Homelessness. The Council will comprise a maximum of eleven members including the Premier (chair); the Minister for Housing; the Minister for Community Services; six individuals from the community, academia, non-government and business sectors; one person who has experienced homelessness; and one representative of the NSW Homelessness Community Alliance. The appointments for the Premier"s Council are currently underway.
Changes arising from the Action Plan are likely to be most apparent into two key areas.
The first is the commencement in the near future of a regional planning process. This will aim to involve a broad range of government and non-government stakeholder groups in the development of nine regional homelessness action plans covering the whole state.
The second will be the commencement of a series of reform projects to improve the homelessness service system. These include new models of tenancy support, the new Safe Start rental subsidy scheme for women escaping domestic and family violence, more assertive outreach services to assist those who are chronically homeless and living on the streets, the trial of the Aboriginal HASI (Housing and Accommodation Support Initiative) program, and an evaluation and research strategy.
Copies of A Way Home: Reducing Homelessness in New South Wales are found here:
References: NSW Government, A Way Home: Reducing Homelessness in NSW, 2009; NCOSS, NSW Homelessness Action Plan launched, NCOSS News, 36, 9, October 2009; Peter Whiteford, Family joblessness on the rise, Australian Policy Online, 8 October 2009.
Rev
the Hon Dr Gordon Moyes AC MLC is one of Australia’s most respected Christian
leaders. Ordained as a minister in the Uniting Church in Australia, he
served for 27 years as the Superintendent of Wesley Mission Sydney, Australia’s
largest non-government welfare provider and the world’s largest city-based
church. He is also a prominent evangelist, broadcaster and elected Member
of the New South Wales Legislative Council.
He
became a household name in Australia many years ago when he began as host
of the weekly television program Turn ‘Round Australia and radio program
Sunday Night Live with Gordon Moyes.
Prime
Minister John Howard characterised Dr Moyes as “the epitome of effective
Christian leadership”, when describing the way he had grown Wesley Mission
into one of the most dynamic and socially responsive church-based charities
in the world.
Crossbench Comment: Tackling homelessness head on in New South Wales
October 2009
In recent months, we have seen the rate of family joblessness increase at a much faster pace than joblessness generally. According to Professor Peter Whiteford from the Social Policy Research Centre at the University of New South Wales, joblessness among families is one of the most significant problems facing Australian society. It is the most important cause of child poverty in Australia and is a major contributor to overall income inequality.
Jobless families include not only those who are unemployed but those not participating in the paid labour market. Around two-thirds of these families are lone parents, and more than 80 percent of lone parents are women.
In December 2007, the newly-elected Federal Labor Government established three new bodies: a Social Inclusion Unit within the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, a Social Inclusion Committee of Cabinet, and a Social Inclusion Board to advise the government on ways to combat economic and social disadvantage in Australia. The objective of "addressing the needs of jobless families with children" is listed first among the priorities on the social inclusion agenda.
As more and more families become unemployed and have no permanent source of income, we will see more and more people displaced from their homes and become homeless. It is a form of displacement that Australia has not seen since the Great Depression.
The "Known Territory" report by St Vincent de Paul found that charity services in regional cities and towns in New South Wales have experienced a threefold increase in demand for help from homeless people in the past two years. The surge in homeless people numbers has occurred in Katoomba, Nowra, Wollongong and Newcastle, places that were attractive to homeless people as they tried to escape the pressures of poverty in the city.
Many people who might in the past have found accommodation in caravan parks are now becoming homeless because many of these caravan parks have been sold for housing developments. In particular, an increasing number of homeless people are now sleeping permanently in their cars.
The need for beds is so great that some welfare groups, such as Newcastle"s Wesley City Mission, are giving away sleeping bags to everyday families who are unable to pay mortgages or rents and have nowhere else to go.
Moreover, the number of homeless teenagers aged 12 to 18 has doubled to 22,000 in the last two decades, according to the National Youth Commission"s (NYC) Australia"s Homeless Youth report. In total, at least 36,000 young people under 25 are homeless on any given night. The problem is so severe that 50 per cent of young people seeking a bed in supported accommodation are turned away because services are full.
In June 2009, over 200 CEOs and business leaders of Australia"s top corporations slept out in the cold and rain to experience what it would be like to have nothing. They bedded down on sheets of cardboard on the ground, some fashioning cardboard shelters complete with roof and walls. A small bowl of soup was all that was offered for dinner. No dessert, no pillow, and strictly no alcohol.
The CEO Sleepout was initiated by the St Vincent de Paul Society to coincide with the 2009 Winter Appeal. Aiming to raise money and raise awareness of the serious issue of homelessness, the event showcased that for over 100,000 men, women and children experiencing homelessness each night in Australia; is no light matter.
Australia"s most prominent business leaders that participated in the event include: Dick Smith, Fairfax CEO Brian McCarthy, NRMA"s Tony Stuart, InterContinental Hotels Group CEO Bruce McKenzie, as well as leaders from the Commonwealth Bank, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, and Sue Cripps of Homelessness NSW.
The Sleepout raised $615,000 for the St Vincent de Paul Society"s NSW"s homeless services. Its success is testament to the generosity and bravery of many business and community leaders who recognise that it is the community"s responsibility to combat homelessness.
On 2 August 2009, the Minister for Housing, David Borger, and the Minister for Community Services, Linda Burney, jointly launched a five year Homelessness Action Plan for 2009-14. This is the first time that New South Wales has ever had a comprehensive and integrated homelessness strategy that brings together all relevant programs and state government agencies.
Called A Way Home: Reducing Homelessness in NSW, the Plan outlines a series of strategies and actions to:
" Prevent homelessness: to ensure that people never become homeless;
" Respond effectively to homelessness: to ensure that people who are homeless receive effective responses so that they do not become entrenched in the system; and
" Break the cycle: to ensure that people who have been homeless do not become homeless again.
The Plan is the successful culmination of persistent lobbying by NCOSS, Homelessness NSW, the Youth Accommodation Association, and the Women"s Refuge Resource Centre, the Plan has three headline targets to be met by 2013:
" A reduction of 7 per cent in the overall level of homelessness in New South Wales;
" A reduction of 25 per cent in the number of people sleeping rough in New South Wales; and
" A reduction of one third in the number of Aboriginal people that are homeless in New South Wales
In terms of preventing homelessness, the priorities are: first, prevent evictions from all kinds of tenures; second, transition and maintain people existing statutory care, correctional and health facilities into appropriate long-term accommodation; and third, provide safe, appropriate long-term accommodation and/or support to people experiencing domestic and family violence, relationship and family breakdown, and at key transition points.
As part of the implementation of the Plan, the NSW Government will establish a Premier"s Council on Homelessness. The Council will comprise a maximum of eleven members including the Premier (chair); the Minister for Housing; the Minister for Community Services; six individuals from the community, academia, non-government and business sectors; one person who has experienced homelessness; and one representative of the NSW Homelessness Community Alliance. The appointments for the Premier"s Council are currently underway.
Changes arising from the Action Plan are likely to be most apparent into two key areas.
The first is the commencement in the near future of a regional planning process. This will aim to involve a broad range of government and non-government stakeholder groups in the development of nine regional homelessness action plans covering the whole state.
The second will be the commencement of a series of reform projects to improve the homelessness service system. These include new models of tenancy support, the new Safe Start rental subsidy scheme for women escaping domestic and family violence, more assertive outreach services to assist those who are chronically homeless and living on the streets, the trial of the Aboriginal HASI (Housing and Accommodation Support Initiative) program, and an evaluation and research strategy.
Copies of A Way Home: Reducing Homelessness in New South Wales are found here:
References: NSW Government, A Way Home: Reducing Homelessness in NSW, 2009; NCOSS, NSW Homelessness Action Plan launched, NCOSS News, 36, 9, October 2009; Peter Whiteford, Family joblessness on the rise, Australian Policy Online, 8 October 2009.
Rev
the Hon Dr Gordon Moyes AC MLC is one of Australia’s most respected Christian
leaders. Ordained as a minister in the Uniting Church in Australia, he
served for 27 years as the Superintendent of Wesley Mission Sydney, Australia’s
largest non-government welfare provider and the world’s largest city-based
church. He is also a prominent evangelist, broadcaster and elected Member
of the New South Wales Legislative Council.
He
became a household name in Australia many years ago when he began as host
of the weekly television program Turn ‘Round Australia and radio program
Sunday Night Live with Gordon Moyes.
Prime
Minister John Howard characterised Dr Moyes as “the epitome of effective
Christian leadership”, when describing the way he had grown Wesley Mission
into one of the most dynamic and socially responsive church-based charities
in the world.
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Crossbench Comment: Tackling homelessness head on in New South Wales
