Today’s housing and homelessness Report on Government Services lay bare the Liberals’ failure to address Tasmania’s deepening housing crisis.
The Rockliff Government bragged about adopting a ‘Housing First’ model and tackling homelessness, but the data tells the true story. Tasmania is the furthest from from realising this policy of any state in the country.
16% of national daily unassisted requests for accommodation services are Tasmanian. This is despite our island state only accounting 2% of Australia’s population.
When trying to secure public housing, Tasmanians in the greatest need waited an average of 21 months to be housed – a figure more than a year longer than the national average. That’s almost two years of insecurity and stress.
We also understand Homes Tasmania’s budget submission that included a request for more money for homelessness services was rejected – a fact the Treasurer would not deny.
In the midst of a housing crisis the Liberals’ refusal of a desperate request from their own housing entity is outrageous.
The Liberals’ priorities are clear. They’re spending available resources on an unwanted billion dollar stadium, while people languish on long lists for waiting for support and a secure home.
With no tangible steps in place, Tasmania is nowhere near reaching the goal of 10,000 new homes by 2032. The Liberals’ ambitious and far off target looks less and less possible as Tasmania backslides annually on key performance measures.
How can the Rockliff Government pretend to be committed to a Housing First model – it’s simply not true. The Liberals’ investment in spin, far outweighs their investment in building and providing safe and secure homes for Tasmanians.
