HUTT STREET CENTRE

Mrs GERAGHTY (Torrens) (15:04): Can the Minister for Housing advise the house of an innovative initiative to raise awareness about homelessness in South Australia?

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE (Wright—Minister for Families and Communities, Minister for Northern Suburbs, Minister for Housing, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Disability) (15:04): I thank the member for Torrens for her question and I know she has a very keen interest in social inclusion of all South Australians. I draw members' attention to an important event occurring in July that is being arranged by the Hutt Street Centre. We all know the Hutt Street Centre is one of the state's key homeless agencies where many of Adelaide's homeless are given a meal, a place where they can seek a shower and where they can do some laundry as well as access a range of professional support services.

On 17 July, the Walk a Mile in My Boots event will take participants on a one mile walk from North Terrace to South Terrace past the Hutt Street Centre. This event aims to give participants a small insight into what it is like to be homeless in the middle of winter in Adelaide and having to walk a mile to get breakfast. The walk will start at 7.30 and finish with breakfast in the South Parklands. Last week, I had the pleasure of launching this event at the Hutt Street Centre, along with well-known South Australians such as Brett Maher and Rachel Sporn.

The issue of homelessness has been a priority for this government, and our Premier has led the way in putting it on the political agenda around the country. Thanks to the great work of the social inclusion commissioner, David Cappo, we are having a real impact on homelessness in South Australia. In fact, over 20,000 people have benefited from assistance through social inclusion initiatives.

The latest figures collected in May again indicate that the number of men and women sleeping rough in the inner city has dropped. When we undertook the first count two years ago, 108 people were recorded as sleeping rough in the CBD. We set ourselves the target of halving this number, and this latest count indicates that we have done just that in two years. The latest count was 53, a drop of 51 per cent.

The issue of homelessness continues to be a challenge, but it is very pleasing to see that we are lifting the lives of many in South Australia who are extremely vulnerable. At the launch of Walk a Mile in My Boots, a series of hand-painted Rossi boots were unveiled, some of which had been painted by indigenous artists from the Hutt Street Centre and others painted by leading artists like David Bromley, Emma Hack, Jos Valdman, Alison Mitchell and Robert Hannaford.

I noticed a glorious pair painted for the Minister for Transport and even a pair for the Leader of the Opposition. I was delighted with the pair that was painted for me, and I hope to win them in the auction process. The boots will be auctioned to raise further funds to support the excellent work of the Hutt Street Centre. Boots that are unpainted but specially branded with 'Walk a Mile in My Boots' are being sold at $60 a pair to wear on the walk through the Parklands, and I urge members to think about pulling on a pair and supporting this worthy cause.