Father at risk of homelessness asks brutally honest question on ABC Q+A

An emotional Australian father has confronted the health minister on television about his government’s immigration policies.

An Australian father who fears one more rent increase will leave his family homeless has confronted the health minister on television about his government’s immigration policies.

Morgan Cox was in the audience on ABC’s Q+A program on Monday broadcasted from federal election battleground Wyong on the Central Coast of NSW.

“I recently got a rent increase notice for an additional $180 a week, which works out to be about $10,000 a year,” Mr Cox said. (Watch in the video player above).

“I tried to find a cheaper place and there just aren’t any. What little is available, there’s dozens of people lined up. Lots of them are immigrants and they have plenty more money than I can possibly get.

“I’m already working two jobs. One more rent increase and my family, my one-year-old baby, we’re facing homelessness and we’ve got nowhere to go. My family has already been forced out of Sydney for the same reasons.

“I want to know is the government going to cut immigration to match housing availability or are we just going to keep going until every regular working Australian is homeless?”

Young father Morgan Cox told Monday's Q+A panel his family had been priced out of Sydney and now faces homelessness amid rising rent costs. Picture: ABC

Mr Cox’s question was welcomed with applause from the audience before Federal Health Minister Mark Butler, who was on the panel, answered.

Mr Butler said: “I’m so sorry you’re going through that and it’s a story we all hear right across the country, obviously, particularly in the bigger states around the big cities.

“We have been working very hard to get migration levels, immigration levels down to something we think the country can manage.”

Mr Cox was visibly frustrated at the response.

The final net overseas migration number for 2023-24, published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) in December, came in at 446,000, down from a record 536,000 in 2022-23.

ABS head of migration statistics Jenny Dobak had said the fall represented the first annual drop in net overseas migration since Australia’s borders reopened in 2021-22.

The Prime Minister had vowed to reduce the annual number to 395,000 in 2023-24 — a miss of 51,000 — before bringing migration back to a more “sustainable” long-term average of 235,000.

Mr Butler continued: “What we’ve found after those efforts is that the arrival numbers have returned to about pre-Covid levels but we’re not managing the exits, the people returning back home if they’ve been here studying or for short-term skilled work, and we’re working very hard on that.

“We do want to see those migration numbers get back to something like normal for Australia. We also know that migration has been an important part of keeping our economy going. We also have a very tight labour market with lots of skill shortages. I know in health, in hospitals and aged care facilities, we struggle to keep those operations going.”

Mr Butler said it was “a fine balance” but what they did know is, “we need more houses, we just need to get building more houses”.

Health and Aged Care Minister Mark Butler on Q+A on Monday. Picture: ABC

Mr Cox couldn’t understand why the government could not just tell immigrants “no, we don’t have enough houses for you”.

Q+A host Patricia Karvelas called on former NSW treasurer Matt Kean, who was also on the panel, to respond as “a lot of these things take a while to build up” and he was treasurer between October 2021 and March 2023.

Mr Kean said the issue was “more complex” than immigration.

“The reality is that we need more housing supply. More supply into the system means more availability for renters, for homeowners – more choice,” he said.

Mr Kean also argued governments needed to make it easier to get homes built.

“There’s way too much red tape and green tape that is stopping housing developments whether it’s Sydney, Melbourne or right across Australia,” he said.

A queue at a rental inspection in Sydney’s Inner West. Picture: Reddit

Over the weekend, a photo was snapped at a Sydney rental inspection showing a massive queue to get inside. The real estate agent revealed the interest was so high because the owner was happy to accept less than other landlords.

The landlord was advised the average rent going to the market was $580 to $610 but he only wanted $500, the agency claimed.

“The owner has chosen to keep the rent below market rate as a personal preference,” property manager Elliott Kazzi told news.com.au.

“He is sensitive to the challenges renters face and prefers to maintain a lower rent. This has been his position even with existing tenancies over the years.

“It’s refreshing to see a landlord go against the perceived stereotype and prioritise affordability for tenants.”

Originally published as Father at risk of homelessness asks brutally honest question on ABC Q+A