The Community Housing Industry Association, National Shelter, Homelessness Australia and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Housing Association have released a joint statement, calling upon the Senate to pass the $10 billion housing fund currently before Federal Parliament.

The Housing Australia Future Fund Bill 2023, National Housing Supply and Affordability Council Bill 2023 and the Treasury Laws Amendment (Housing Measures No. 1) Bill 2023 are all currently being mulled over by the upper house.

Wendy Hayhurst, CEO of Community Housing Industry Association, believes a lack of rentals available nationwide is holding back the nation’s economy.

“Existing policy settings have led us to where we are today,” she says.

“We need to get moving on building a better supply of social and affordable housing and these three pieces of legislation are important building blocks. We can strengthen them and provide additional resources in the years ahead but we need to get moving now.”

According to the ABS Census, rising interest rates, and subsequently higher rents are hurting the back pocket of Australians. Homelessness has increased by five percent, while the UNSW City Futures Research Centre analysts have found 640,000 Australians are in housing stress with the number tipped to hit one million by 2041.

“Vacancies have plummeted, rents have skyrocketed and people are paying the price,” says National Shelter CEO Emma Greenhalgh.

“We badly need government investment and intervention and time is of the essence. This is a national crisis, action can not be deferred.”

Rental affordability has plummeted by 14 percent as per the National Shelter Rental Affordability Index. An even steeper decline has been felt by those on lower incomes.

Homelessness Australia CEO Kate Colvin has called for a reset of the housing market, starting with new legislation.

“The package of laws before the Parliament will not be enough to fix the housing crisis alone, but they are critical to kick-starting a longer term response,” she says.

“We need the planning, coordination and financing in place to make sure this is the last housing crisis we face and for that reason, it’s important that the Housing Australia Future Fund, Housing Australia and other key bodies get going now.”

Ivan Simon, CEO of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Association says that Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have been neglected by the government throughout the housing crisis.

“The needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities have been ignored by governments. The extremely high levels of severe overcrowding in remote and non-remote communities continues to have negative impacts on the health and well-being of our people,” he says.

“This also includes the standard of ‘disrepair’ of the current housing stock owned and or managed by our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Housing Organisations.

“NATSIHA sees the current strategy, priorities and budget commitment of the Australian Government as the start, not the end of the process of addressing this challenge and therefore urges the government to clearly indicate how it proposes to resource the needs of our people in the longer term and that the monitoring, review and any amendments to the current proposed legislation will be actioned including any increases in the financial investments required."

Jarrod Reedie

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