Mr BAYLEY (Clark) – Thank you, honourable Deputy Speaker. I will start by thanking the member for bringing this on in Homelessness Week. It is indeed an incredibly important topic. I want to acknowledge that housing is a fundamental human right for a person to have safe, secure and long-term prospects for accommodation. I also want to acknowledge that literally less than 100 metres from where we stand and talk today, there are people sleeping rough today, last night and tonight in St Davids Park. That is simply not good enough in the heart of our capital city.
The statistics speak for themselves. Other speakers who have resumed their seats talk of the fudging of figures and the shameful lack of not so much ambition – the ambition is written there in the strategy and in media releases – but the shameful lack of commitment. Whether it is affordable land, counting granny flats, supported accommodation, 410 parcels of land or land not yet built on, it is shameful to be counting these in the statistics.
The Budget government is allocating to these services is not enough. We had fears about Homes Tasmania and its model going forward when the legislation established it and they are becoming realised now, because in 2027 Homes Tasmania will be saddled with $457 million of debt. We need a department of public works, a government agency that can be building these properties that do not need to earn a profit and do not charge the government massively, and that is clearly going to be a way forward.
I celebrate some of the work that is being done in this space and particularly in Homelessness Week where the theme, as has been said, is ‘Action Now’. The Hobart City Mission is opening its safe night space for a couple of days tomorrow and Saturday from 10.00 a.m. to 12.00 p.m. in Davey Street. That is very welcome, and I encourage people to get along and check them out.
Ewan Higgs from Hobart City Mission has written in today’s paper about their advocacy for a Housing First model – basically rights in practice. Housing First principles ensure that people have access to safe, secure homes that meet their cultural and social needs. Support services are holistic, continuous and adaptable, allowing for a person-centred approach that respects each individual’s journey and strengths. This model has proven successful internationally and can significantly impact reducing homelessness here in Tasmania.
There are both community service organisations and individuals who are doing incredible work here. They are advocating for a youth homelessness strategy, they are advocating for more work to be done to address women’s homelessness, and they are seeking additional funding to support their work, whether that be in the form of indexation of their core funding or additional project funding. This government owes it to Tasmanians to fund the community services industry, because they are helping Tasmanians find solutions. They are helping Tasmanians get out of the circumstances that they find themselves in and get back on the right track.
In the housing space, more needs to be done. Renters need reform. We need to control rents, end no‑cause evictions, and we need minimum standards in our rental properties. When it comes to supply, it is very clear that we need to deal with the conversion of whole‑home rentals to short‑stay accommodation. That is a thing that is creating problems in our community, whether it be in urban or regional areas, and is creating complications across our economy.
I express my disappointment again in relation to yesterday. The two major parties made a clear commitment at the election to deal with pets in rentals, and there was a bill brought forward both with regard to pets and toppling furniture. They are small but very welcome steps. However, they need to go further. We need to recognise assistance animals, and we need to ensure that major modifications go further.
I am not going to join with the Labor Party in relentlessly attacking the Jacqui Lambie members, but they did make strong commitments in the election to stand up for renters. I am disappointed on behalf of renters who want the rights to have pets in their properties that we have further delayed debate on a bill that would give them those rights, that we have further kicked that into the grass, and, because of a range of communications from stakeholders, that we are going to have further consultation. That is disappointing because renters need those rights.
