Page 1146 - Week 03 - Thursday, 18 March 2010
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looking at the long-term issues and some of the key issues which can lead to someone becoming homeless.
Homelessness is sometimes a very unfortunate symptom of a number of other issues. Such issues can include financial stress, often caused by a sudden change in circumstances such as the loss of a job or reduction in welfare payments; a family breakdown; physical health; mental health; substance abuse; ongoing disabilities or acute disabilities that have come on recently; or many other issues. Of course, there are a number of even broader issues that impact on all citizens—such as house prices, the rental market, housing supply, access to information, financial literacy and many more—which have a profound impact on homelessness.
I firmly believe that the cost of homeownership in Canberra is putting considerable stress on Canberra families and is changing the entrenched homeownership culture and life and family expectations of Canberrans. On any measure, the average house price in Canberra is well over $400,000, with the entry level also being extremely high. The reasons for this are many, but a key one is the Stanhope government’s erratic supply of land. Since the ALP came to power in 2001, we have not seen a steady land release strategy, which has created uncertainty in the sector and led to higher house prices. In a situation that is extremely unfortunate for Canberrans, the ACT government must prioritise troubleshooting for their budget woes instead of housing affordability for all Canberrans.
This talk of house prices may seem irrelevant for people that are homeless or on the cusp of homelessness. However, there is a strong ripple effect that stems from housing issues at the top or at the homeownership level. When you have high house prices, the entry level is higher; therefore more people are forced into the rental market, which drives up rental prices. This creates greater incentive for property investors because of the increased yield. And there is greater pressure: it makes Canberra houses more attractive for investment opportunities, which in turn drives up house prices even further. This again encourages more people into the rental market. The problem can mean that house prices spiral well out of reach of many or most Canberra families.
There is hardly anyone in Canberra living in a group house who would be paying less than $100 per week in rent. For many, I imagine it is more like $150 or $180 a week. By the time you factor in electricity and gas, the price per week can soar. If you are a casual, a student or on a basic wage, or if you have a family, you have dependants, you are on welfare or you have health issues, this can simply be too much. A slippery slope, starting with couch surfing or staying with friends, may commence, and the homeless cycle can then be entrenched.
This also puts considerable pressure on our public housing stock. At the moment we have about 11,000 or so tenancies here in the ACT. I think it was 10,500 as at the last budget. A lot of people who are taking out public housing tenancies are doing so simply because of the rental market and the high house prices. In earlier times they would not have been forced into public housing at all. The bar is being raised for the housing market and, in terms of when someone would need to seek support from the government in terms of housing, the bar is being broadened to cover more people. So we are getting more people, putting more pressure on Housing ACT stock and
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