A place we can call home where we feel safe and secure is the foundation for a good life and fundamental to our wellbeing.
Yesterday, the Andrews Government announced a record investment of $5.3 billion to build 12,000 new homes over four years. The Centre congratulates the Andrews Government for taking this critical step and demonstrating their commitment to fairness and the wellbeing of Victorians.
In our submission to the Legislative Council’s Legal and Social Issues Standing Committee’s Inquiry into homelessness in Victoria, we said that investment in housing supply is the most effective step government can take to address homelessness and is crucial to meeting the most basic safety and wellbeing needs of children and families.
For an increasing number of families in contact with our child and family services, housing insecurity and homelessness are their primary concern. On census night 2016, around 24,800 Victorians were homeless, of whom 5,380 were children. There are many more at risk of homelessness, and 26,918 children assisted by Victorian Specialist Homelessness Services in 2018-19. This has presented a significant challenge for our sector, as the supports we are best placed to provide are often impossible to deliver when a family does not have a safe, secure and stable place to live.
This investment will not only make a huge difference in the lives of Victorians who will call these new properties home, but it will play a part in easing system pressures and greatly assist our economic recovery.
We call on the federal government to demonstrate their commitment to addressing homelessness and supporting the wellbeing of Victorian families by matching this investment.
Read our submission to the inquiry here.
Read the Premier’s statement here.
