An ageing population is caught in a perfect storm of rising house prices and rents, falling home ownership rates, mortgage debt carried into retirement, insecure rentals and a lack of social housing.
The last time an Australian government made housing the homeless a priority was 15 years ago. The Albanese government’s promised plan is a second chance to get it right by drawing on models that work.
People on the general waiting list can wait a decade to be housed. Even those on the priority list may wait years. Asked how the wait affects them, their responses reveal devastating impacts.
Without state investment, strategic consideration and political support, the lessons learned since the start of the pandemic on the importance to society of a place to call home will be lost.
By 2050, 13.3 million people in Bangladesh could be displaced by the climate crisis. For them to be safe, the government needs to do more than build buildings.
People struggling with homelessness often have limited control over their belongings and face the constant risk of being separated from their possessions.
The strategy’s core mission should be to ensure everyone in Australia has adequate housing. That requires 950,000 social and affordable rental dwellings to be built by 2041, dwarfing current targets.
The challenging realities surrounding end-of-life care are especially difficult for older people experiencing homelessness, who have more barriers to accessing hospice care.
Local councils lack the means to tackle homelessness, but are often closest to the people at risk. A national plan should recognise and resource the role councils can play in preventing homelessness.
Andrea Magalhaes hasn’t demanded vengeance since her son was murdered — she’s called for expanding the social safety net to address the root causes of crime. Public officials should listen to her.
In any given town, community and neighbourhood there will be homeless children, sometimes as young as 10, who are surviving without the effective care and protection of parents or guardians.
Brisbane rents are up nearly 50% more than the national average and homelessness in Queensland is increasing at the fastest rate in the country. The state can take several steps to turn things around.
Three bills to go before parliament confirm the Albanese government is restoring the Commonwealth to a leadership role on housing issues. But there are still gaps in its approach.
Current discussions about ‘homelessness’ have echoes of the past treatment of vagrants. New historical research tells us more about the lives of people during periods of social and economic hardship.