Homeslessness
Reverend the Hon. Dr Gordon Moyes: I ask the Hon. Eric Roozendaal, representing the Minister for Community Services, a question without notice. Is the Minister aware that New South Wales faces a homelessness epidemic reaching to the State’s suburban heartland, with emergency accommodation services reporting unprecedented demands from everyday families who are unable to pay mortgages and rents? Is the Minister aware that hospital and emergency providers are routinely turning away people, many of them parents with young children seeking help? In particular, is the Minister aware that the need for beds is so great that some welfare groups, such as Newcastle’s Wesley City Mission, are giving away sleeping bags to everyday families who are unable to pay mortgages or rents and have nowhere else to go? Will the Minister indicate what new measures and arrangements are in place to address the State’s homelessness epidemic?
The Hon. Eric Roozendaal: I thank the honourable member for his question on this very serious matter and I will refer it to the Minister for an appropriate answer.
Deferred answer to Homelessness
On 26 February 2008 Reverend the Hon. Dr Gordon Moyes asked the Minister for Roads, representing the Minister for Community Services, a question without notice regarding homelessness in New South Wales. The Minister for Community Services provided the following response:
The Department of Community Services is a key agency within the Partnership Against Homelessness through the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP). This program, which is an important component of this Government’s response to homeless people and women and children affected by domestic violence, provides vital services for people who are homeless – or at risk of becoming homeless – through nearly 400 non government services around NSW. It is jointly funded by State and Commonwealth governments and administered in NSW by the Department of Community Services. This financial year the SAAP budget is almost $120 million.
Unfortunately, the previous Federal Government made the decision not to provide further growth funding under the current SAAP agreement. NSW continues to work with peak representative bodies to plan how viable, effective services can continue to be provided to those who need them most. It is hoped that the priority placed on homelessness by the new Prime Minister will result in a change in the Commonwealth’s position on this issue.
The NSW Government has established a working group to develop a proposal for a statewide homelessness strategic framework with the intention of defining how best the NSW Government can help homeless people and provide direction for future strategies.
Work is occurring through a staged process to map current services and agree upon results and strategies. Key NSW stakeholders are being consulted as part of this process and will have input into the development of the proposal to provide directions for improving the effectiveness of the service system.
The NSW Government is aware of initiatives being pursued by the Rudd Government in relation to Homelessness. This includes commissioning a Green Paper on Homelessness by May 2008 and developing a White Paper, with a plan for action, by August 2008. Work at the national level also includes an initiative called ‘A Place to Call Home’ which is a five year plan to establish up to 600 new houses and units for families and individuals who are homeless. NSW welcomes the opportunity to work together with the Commonwealth to implement these initiatives and address the issue of homelessness.
My recent attendance at the Housing Ministers Conference, chaired by the Federal Minister for Housing, the Hon Tanya Plibersek MP on 14 March 2008, to discuss issues of homelessness, reflects the commitment of the NSW Government to continue to work across agencies and with the Commonwealth to find solutions to this.
