Page 4393 - Week 12 - Thursday, 24 October 2019
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The last few years have seen an upsurge in street homelessness or rough sleeping in Australia’s major cities. The homeless population includes more than just rough sleepers, however. It is generally accepted that homelessness exists when a person is experiencing insecure or unsafe accommodation and ranges from situations of sleeping rough to staying in guest or boarding houses or couch surfing with family and friends.
Accordingly, homelessness encompasses a spectrum of severity that may last only a short time for most individuals while others may experience many years of depravation. Whether short or long term, homelessness is one of the most severe forms of disadvantage and social exclusion that a person can experience.
As the Minister for Mental Health, I have a vested interest in ensuring that there is enough support available to those who struggle with mental illness. We know that people with severe and persistent mental illness are disproportionately represented in the population of homeless people.
Recent studies of adult homelessness found that more than 80 per cent of Australian adults experiencing homelessness reported at least one diagnosed mental health condition. The prevalence of mental illness, particularly severe and persistent disorders such as bipolar, schizoid-type and personality disorders, is higher in the homeless population than it is in the general Australian population.
I acknowledge that, as both justice and corrections minister and Minister for Mental Health, I have a role to play and have a responsibility to ensure that there are joined-up services and systems to assist people who come into contact with mental health services and the criminal justice system. It is obvious that Housing ACT has a significant role to play but, equally, we must focus on the intersecting services system such as health and mental health services, domestic and family violence services, out of home care and care and protection services.
I note that there are federal government policies that currently contribute to the risk of homelessness, such as the woefully inadequate rate of the Newstart allowance. That does not mean we should not do what we can as a territory government nor that there might be significant savings to the territory in adopting a housing-first approach. While the ACT is in a relatively better position than other jurisdictions, I think we can do better and I believe that an economic analysis of the cost of homelessness will assist us to develop policy in the future, to gain new insights and to help us improve our service models and our approaches here in the territory. I commend the motion to the Assembly.
MR BARR (Kurrajong—Chief Minister, Treasurer, Minister for Social Inclusion and Equality, Minister for Tertiary Education, Minister for Tourism and Special Events and Minister for Trade, Industry and Investment) (4.38): I thank Mr Rattenbury for bringing this important motion before the Assembly.
Fortunately, here in the ACT we are bucking the trend when it comes to homelessness. Nationally, homelessness figures rose by 13.7 per cent between the 2011 and 2016
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