New government statistics reveal northern NSW has longest wait time for social housing in state
New statistics reveal NSW is faring terribly when it comes to painfully long wait times for social housing, with the North Coast topping the list. But one Tweed MP says things could be much worse.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
New statistics reveal the state is faring terribly when it comes to painfully long wait times for social housing, with northern NSW topping the list – but one Tweed MP says things could be much worse.
The statistics, released on Tuesday by Homelessness NSW in conjunction with the NSW Department of Justice and Communities, show a staggering five-year wait for social housing across the North Coast.
The hardest-hit region topped the Illawarra, Sydney, Blue Mountains and the Hunter.
Tweed Nationals MP Geoff Provest said despite the grim figures, it isn’t the worst he has seen.
“I’ve been a member for 17 years and in that time I’ve seen projected waiting periods in excess of 15 years,” Mr Provest said.
He said a $20 million social housing complex built on Tweed Heads’ Boyd St in the wake of the 2022 NSW floods was expected to “put a dent in the problem” – “but didn’t”.
“There has long been a steady flow of homeless people migrating from Queensland across the border. There’s a lot of people sleeping rough and sadly, in my government, there’s a lack of investment in social housing,” he said.
“There’s several issues. We can only put homeless people in emergency accommodation for 28 days. Also, the two pod villages in this electorate are not permanent accommodation.”
Mr Provest said a government-employed outreach team was doing “the best work they can” on the streets, as well as non-for-profit organisations like Fred’s Place, Agape Outreach and You Have A Friend.
“There’s no overstating the fact that the situation is dire,” he said.
“Unfortunately the supply doesn’t meet with the demand and we often feel like our efforts are akin to a dog chasing their tail.”
Lismore Labor MP Janelle Saffin acknowledged the unacceptably long wait list for social housing.
She said it was a “long-term, systemic problem because the key issue of supply had been neglected for way too long”.
“I’ve secured a $30-million Build To Rent pilot for our area, and last week I joined NSW Premier Chris Minns to announce more than 400 homes, with 20 per cent of them affordable, to be built on flood-free land in East Lismore under the Resilient Lands Program, with more sites to come,” Ms Saffin said.
“The Minns Labor Government is committed to addressing supply by building more housing here in the Northern Rivers region. The previous Coalition government failed to set regional targets and that is changing.”
Homeless NSW CEO Dom Rowe said the state’s housing crisis was putting “huge pressure on frontline homelessness services, with many struggling to keep up with rising demand”.
“LGAs across metropolitan Sydney and also suburban and rural areas are seeing increased levels of homelessness – showing that plummeting housing affordability is affecting people right across the state.
“It is heartbreaking that women and their children fleeing domestic violence have to choose between staying in a dangerous home or sleeping in a tent or a car because they can’t get the help they need.
“NSW must increase funding for specialist homelessness services, as Queensland has just done with a 20 per cent boost.”
While acknowledging social housing was a state issue, Tweed Mayor Chris Cherry expressed concern for those sleeping rough in the community.
“Historically there has been a massive under-investment in social housing in our area.
I believe this is due to our being on the border and the NSW Government not wanting to encourage people to cross from Queensland to access such facilities. Unfortunately, the same under-investment has occurred on the Queensland side, so it leaves the Tweed in a no-man’s land with no provision made for those who need help the most,” she said.
“Social housing does not have to be a dirty word. It can be well-managed and function really well, as we see in the Common Ground model in Brisbane.
Without investment, we will see people sleeping in their cars, in parks and on the streets – even when they are trying to hold down a job and get kids to school as well.”
More Coverage
Originally published as New government statistics reveal northern NSW has longest wait time for social housing in state
Puppy love: New laws to ban mass production farms
Mass production puppy farms, where sometimes hundreds of dogs are kept in cages and bred dozens of times, will soon be banned in new legislation to be introduced by the Minns government today.
Man killed in Western Sydney stabbing
A 64-year-old man has died after being stabbed in the neck in Sydney’s west. A 34-year-old man has been arrested at the scene and is assisting police with their inquiries.