Advocates concerned by lack of social housing investment

The federal government has missed an opportunity to further drive the nation’s economic recovery by boosting production of social and affordable housing, advocates say.

The federal government has missed an opportunity to further drive the nation’s economic recovery by boosting production of social and affordable housing, advocates say.

About $41 million is due to be slashed from social housing and homelessness funding from July next year, dropping the nation’s spend in the sector from about $1.594bn this financial year.

But budget documents show funding for the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement will rise to $1.593bn by 2023-24.

In Victoria, federal funding for social housing and homelessness will drop from by $14M to $399M in 2021-22.

More than 5000 people sought homelessness support in the Barwon region in the year to August, most of them in Greater Geelong, statistics from the Barwon South West Homelessness Network show.

A spokeswoman for Social Services Minister Anne Ruston said the Morrison Government was providing Victoria with $400 million each year until 2023-24 to support the state’s housing and homelessness programs.

“In 2020-21, the Morrison Government is providing almost $7 million to emergency relief providers which service the Geelong region to provide people doing it tough with food relief, clothing and help paying bills and housing costs,” the spokeswoman said.

Homelessness Australia chair Jenny Smith said the government chose to slash funding for social housing and homelessness at a time when “huge increases in unemployment” would create “a surge in rental stress and homelessness.”

“Without increases in social housing and with even less resources for homelessness services, many families will become stuck in homelessness for a long time,” Ms Smith said.

“The government has ignored advice from all corners: from top economists, property industry and community sector leaders, as well as popular support from the community; all calling for the government to invest in social housing to both create thousands of new jobs each year and to deliver enormous social good.”

Labor leader Anthony Albanese told Sky News: “We think that the government has missed an opportunity, for example, economists were asked, ‘What’s the number one thing that you would do to boost jobs immediately?’ And it was public housing, social housing investment. And there’s nothing in this budget for that.”

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Originally published as Advocates concerned by lack of social housing investment