Byron Shire Council records more rough sleepers than City of Sydney in NSW street count for second year
North Coast Minister Rose Jackson admits there is “much more to do” to drive down soaring homelessness in Byron and surrounds, while a local MP has slammed a bizarre “myth” doing the rounds.
Byron Shire
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North Coast Minister Rose Jackson has addressed the “heartbreaking” rate of Byron Shire homelessness and admits there is “much more to do” after more rough sleepers were recorded than Sydney for a second year.
It comes as Ballina MP Tamara Smith has slammed “myths” Byron has been “a destination for ‘homeless holidays’ and hundreds of people are flocking to the area to sleep rough”.
The shire has the largest group of rough sleepers in the state at 348, according to the 2024 NSW Street Count – a 16 per cent increase compared to February last year.
City of Sydney recorded 280 people sleeping rough, marking a one per cent rise from 2023. In the 2020, 2021 and 2022 street counts, Sydney recorded the largest number of people sleeping rough.
Ms Jackson said as well as advocating for more state funding, she has been pushing for the federal Labor government to boost contributions.
The 2024-25 federal budget revealed a $9.3 billion National Agreement on Social Housing and Homelessness investment over five years. It includes $423.1 million in funding over five years from 2024–25 to support provision of social housing and homelessness services by states and territories, if they sign the agreement.
It comes as Mission Australia has slammed the new budget and called for almost one million new social and affordable homes to meet growing demand over the next 20 years.
The charity believes existing government commitments and the new budget investment does not come close.
Mission is also pushing for investment in a new $500m Homelessness Prevention Transformation Fund in the agreement starting in July this year
That would allow frontline staff to focus on helping people avoid homelessness with the right assistance and support.
The historic 2022 floods across northern NSW impacted thousands of properties across the region, reducing housing availability.
Byron Shire Council Mayor Michael Lyon said it was clear why the situation worsened.
“The number has increased because currently we are not building enough houses at the right price point to enable people to access housing,” he said.
“It is also clear we need to build far more social housing than we are.
“Until we do these things in large numbers, homelessness will continue to rise.”
Mr Lyon said the council was “doing its part” and had submitted an “ambitious” residential strategy to the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure in March.
He also pointed to the relevant “projects on the limited land it owns, such as 57 Station St and the rezoning of the Mullumbimby Hospital Site to residential”.
“We need the state and federal governments to step up and invest in housing, especially in light of their immigration policy, which seems to be miscalculated, given I understand they have excluded trades like builders from the current intake,” he said.
Mr Lyon is also chair of the Northern Rivers Joint Organisation, which represents Ballina, Byron, Clarence, Kyogle, Lismore, Richmond Valley and Tweed LGAs.
Greens MP Ms Smith said she was worried about the most vulnerable and support services were seeing a boom in demand.
“The frontline workers and volunteers that support rough sleepers in Byron Shire and across the Northern Rivers day in and day out – mostly without government assistance – have seen a huge spike in demand for support services from people in our community across the whole spectrum of homelessness,” she said.
“Those at the frontline of support tell me that the increase is due to the impact of the floods, the extreme lack of rental availability and affordability and the cost of living crisis.”
Ms Smith said there was no truth at all to Byron being a claimed ‘homeless holiday’ hot spot.
“This is exactly that – a myth and false,” she said.
“I’m told by homelessness services in Byron Shire that most of our rough sleepers are locals with strong ties to the community, including having children enrolled in our local schools.
“Pause to consider that right now there are little ones who have a parent sleeping rough, or they are sleeping rough themselves. It is heartbreaking.
“People can fall into homelessness very quickly and then it is incredibly challenging to get back into housing.”
Ms Smith said community “champions” were doing all they could – the “heavy lifting” – to back rough sleepers facing a “funding cliff”.
“ … we should all feel very concerned about the future for those most vulnerable in our community,” she said.
Ms Jackson said she was “acutely aware” of the Byron “crisis” and would “continue to advocate for more crucial funding”.
She said confronting issue was a state priority and claimed “as a start, we have stabilised the system”.
Ms Jackson pointed to the government’s 2023-24 $11 million spend for homelessness services in Northern NSW, including Ballina, Byron, Clarence Valley, Kyogle, Lismore, Richmond Valley and Tweed.
That funded was allocated to Social Futures Ltd and Third Sector Australia Ltd, trading as Momentum Collective.
Other services like Byron’s Fletcher Street Cottage remain without ongoing funding.
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