Mornington Peninsula’s $33k campaign to school ratepayers on helping homeless
Mornington Peninsula council has denied claims it is trying to “guilt trip” part-time residents into giving up their summers by the bay.
South East
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A $200 plan to teach Mornington Peninsula holiday house owners how to help the homeless has been ditched in favour of a $33,000 strategy.
Mornington Peninsula council voted to spend the money encouraging 37,000 holiday house owners to put their properties on the long term rental market.
The proposal included delivering a flyer to 95,000 ratepayers ($29,000) and including another plea in the 2023 rates notice ($4000).
Officers had recommended a $200 email and social media campaign after an August request to investigate the cost of asking all non-residential ratepayers to “surrender” their properties.
However, Cr David Gill said the recommendation was “cheap” and called on the council to “really put some oomph” into the plan.
“$33,000 is a pittance,” Cr Gill said.
“If we can just put a dint in the number of houses that are available, even 100 or 200, then we’re housing those people for the cost of $33k.”
Cr Sarah Race applauded the “bold and brave move”, and said that the thought of children sleeping in cars on the foreshore kept her from sleeping.
“If it helps get those kids a roof over their head, that is worth every single cent of our money and probably the best $33,000 we’ve spent this year,” she said.
The council heard that 37,442 properties were owned by non-permanent residents – representing about 40 per cent of the 103,000 rateable residential properties on the peninsula.
“If we can just get 1 per cent of those (properties) offered for long term rental to help out our community that (would be) incredible,” Cr Race said.
Not all councillors supported the initiative.
Cr Susan Bissinger, who represents Nepean Ward which includes Sorrento and Portsea, said she wasn’t comfortable “trying to guilt trip people into giving up their private assets that they have worked hard to have”.
“I don’t want to offend people in any of these areas that are going to be targeted simply because of the number of vacant properties that will never be affordable (for low income earners),” she said.
“They’re not cheap houses and the rent will never be cheap.”
However, Cr Kerri McCafferty argued that it was not offensive to ask people in a good financial position to come forward and help those who were not.
“If we’re going to offend somebody by asking them to put their house on the market that they used for three weeks a year and that helps get kids off the beach I’m all for it. Let’s do it,” she said.
Deputy mayor Lisa Dixon said while she liked the idea of a $200 plan, particularly as her ward – which included Hastings – had few holiday houses, she would support the more expensive proposal.
“I don’t see it as a guilt campaign I see it more as an educative campaign,” she said.
Meanwhile, the shire launched its Shout Out for the Peninsula campaign on Tuesday, kicking off with a $100 million demand for funds from the state government’s Big Housing Build to help provide shelter for the region’s 1000 homeless and 4000 people on the public housing waiting list.
Locals were encouraged to “demand better, act now” by telling candidates ahead of the November election what mattered most.
The council will also use a pledge tracker to monitor funding commitments from all candidates.
