Homelessness

Mr WHETSTONE (Chaffey) (15:45): I move:

That this house—

(a) calls on the state government to further address the long-term waiting lists for affordable housing and homelessness in South Australia;

(b) urges the state government to take decisive action to help reduce the cost of living pressures in this state; and

(c) acknowledges the outstanding work undertaken by service groups across the state to help the less fortunate.

I bring this motion to the house to highlight the seriousness of homelessness in South Australia and the lack of available affordable housing for our youth, in particular. It is a major issue that needs much greater focus, particularly in the electorate of Chaffey in the Riverland.

I will start with a recent conference in Adelaide where experts and sector workers warned that a looming tsunami of industrial change facing South Australia will happen when car maker Holden closes in 2017, and it could prompt a stampede into homelessness if the state is not able to generate more employment opportunities. The conference stated, 'Our unemployment is the worst in the nation and is not getting any better.'

On any given night, one in 200 people in Australia is homeless. In the 2011 ABS census, there were 105,237 homeless people in Australia. In South Australia, there were 5,985 people—that is, 37.5 people per 10,000—homeless on the census night in 2011. Almost 3,200 children younger than nine ended up on the homelessness service in 2014-15, with 22,382 people in South Australia needing help with crisis or long-term accommodation. Most concerning was that 14 per cent were children aged younger than nine, and about a third of those people were fleeing family violence.

At the conference, the University of Adelaide's Centre for Housing, Urban and Regional Planning director, Professor Andrew Beer, said the current homelessness sector may not be large enough or sufficiently well resourced to cope. Professor Beer said that problems with under-resourcing and insufficient funding are particularly concerning for South Australia. The Hutt Street Centre manager, Ian Cox, told media that more families were presenting to the centre, and he feared it could worsen if the unemployment rate continued to rise. He said people were often living in cars. They had been recently evicted or moved from interstate with children as young as three. Mr Cox said that a crucial element of the long-term response to homelessness was to build more suitable affordable housing.

A count of those who sleep on the streets of Adelaide taken in May 2015 found that more than half of the 81 people sleeping rough in the city had effectively given up finding stable accommodation because it was too expensive and inaccessible. In 2015, the federal and state governments together spent about $57 million on homelessness services in this state. I am aware of the state government's Renewing Our Streets and Suburbs strategy to regenerate old Housing Trust stock that predates 1968 within the next 15 years.

The questions I have had raised with me about this program though are: why is it predominantly city-based and, even if this program is just city-based, is it enough to meet the future demand? The Rann government committed to halving the number of rough sleepers in South Australia by 2013 as part of its Strategic Plan, but in 2012 the South Australian Strategic Plan Audit Committee concluded that it was unclear this goal would ever be achieved. While the number of homeless persons increased by 10 per cent across Australia between 2001 and 2006, it rose by 2.4 per cent over the same period across South Australia. My point is that the state's homeless numbers are still increasing. I would like to refer to an Adelaide University report, entitled 'Homelessness South Australia: a 2015 stocktake of homelessness issues in South Australia'. It states:

…South Australia has entered a period of economic transition that will take a number of years to work through. While the fall in the value of the Australian dollar will help the State’s recovery, much economic damage is unavoidable as General Motors Holden…and associated suppliers cease operations by 2017…

I think you would also need to add that there is a slowing of the mining sector. The report goes on:

The impacts on the state economy will be profound, and those most affected will be the vulnerable within society. We can anticipate greater levels of family breakup, domestic violence, young people leaving the family home before they are ready, an on-going crisis of housing affordability for many and greater demands on the full spectrum of welfare services, including homelessness services. We know from the research literature that these events can have long term impacts, with some individuals affected for decades and some homelessness transmitted across generations…

Other factors impacting upon homelessness and housing affordability include low interest rates, which have contributed to house price inflation in South Australia, with median house prices closer to $500,000. Owning a home for low income earners or even our youth is almost out of the question. The rental market is in high demand as a result.

I would also like to take this opportunity to point out the amazing work of our service groups and organisations that help those who may find themselves homeless. I would like to acknowledge, particularly in the electorate of Chaffey, some of the groups that are doing fantastic work that I have just recently experienced out and about while having a look at homelessness and some of the issues around people living it rough. They include ac.care, Life Without Barriers, the Salvos, Centacare, and the list goes on.

I want to touch upon some of the experiences that have occurred in my electorate. It was a real eye-opener for me to head out with the Berri-based welfare agency Life Without Barriers in a dinghy patrolling the River Murray to take water and assistance out to some of South Australia's most vulnerable people. When I hopped into the dinghy, I had no idea what I was about to experience. I travelled along a considerable stretch of the river around the Riverland to see people living rough, living in tents, living under pieces of canvas, and in some cases people were living under sheets of galvanised iron. These people are out of sight and out of reach of today's typical society.

The Life Without Barriers team goes above and beyond to drop off water. A lot of the homeless have become socially inept or unable to interact with mainstream society. The Life Without Barriers employees do food and water drops by the tents, by the canvas, by the sheets of galvanised iron and then leave. As we motored away in the dinghy, we would see these people emerge, and they were very grateful for the drop that had been left with them. Welfare agencies in the Riverland are never really surprised by what they see.

On the 2011 census night, roughly 600 people were living homeless in the Riverland alone. One of the main issues is the lack of available emergency housing, particularly in regional areas, which is then also complicated by a number of other factors, such as high unemployment. As I said, these boat patrols run several times every week along the riverbanks between Renmark and Waikerie, and it is evident that homeless people live in these locations. Some are there for weeks; some have been there for a number of years. For me, it was an eye-opener to understand exactly the challenges life presented for them, not being able to afford housing, becoming socially incapable of interacting with mainstream people. It really makes you wonder where the priorities are with the way funding works and how support mechanisms are put in place and how they are funded.

Obviously, the cost-of-living pressures currently facing many South Australians are placing more pressure on those who are already homeless and those who are facing homelessness. The extra strain is never quite seen, particularly with service providers that are continually under resourced. Those service groups are doing a great job with what they have available. For those who own or rent a home, the cost of water, electricity and gas services, as well as the continual increase of our ESL, are all contributing to what I consider a concerning number of people in the region on the verge of becoming homeless. The Riverland's unemployment sits at 9.3 per cent and, again, without an income, the chances of owning your own home or being able to find a roof over your head are becoming minute.

Of course, there are other factors which are contributing to the continued rates of homelessness in the Riverland and those factors resonate across the state. Domestic violence remains a factor which contributes significantly to people living rough. Groups such as Centacare with Ele Wilde and her team do an outstanding job with an ever-reducing amount of resources and funding for what I think is God's work. They are working tirelessly to support women and families impacted by domestic violence.

Sadly, my electorate has also seen the rise of drug use and the increasing presence of crystal methamphetamine. It seems to be a conversational topic that is raised with me on an all too frequent basis. Drug issues are certainly contributing to homelessness and have also put welfare services under the pump. The dire situation of people living rough in the region is also further complicated, as I said, by the lack of public transport. In many regions of South Australia, particularly the Riverland and the Mallee, public transport is almost non-existent. That puts further strain on people being able to access services and can drive them to become homeless. It is just another factor.

Another concern to me is that many of those living rough or looking for affordable social housing are our youth. It is a sad fact that we have an increasing number of youth living rough who are taking up residence wherever they can find shelter. The findings of a recent study by the Flinders University Rural Clinical School were presented at the National Rural Health Conference in Darwin. That study found that youth homelessness is on the rise in the regions and that, sadly, access to drugs is a major factor.

The university was approached by agencies to deal with homelessness because the agencies had noticed an increase in homeless youth aged between 10 and 18. The local Riverland ABC recently reported on a Riverland mum who had spoken out about being homeless with her four children after ending an abusive relationship. Ending that relationship left Kate unable to pay the rent, and she soon was evicted, unable to afford food. She lived on the cramped floor of a room at a relative's house. This is just an example of people who are facing life's challenges, who are being forced to become homeless and who live in today's society. As Kate said, this is one of the hardest things she has had to do: with four children, she decided that an abusive relationship had to end and she became a homeless statistic.

These are the sad realities of what we face in today's society. The homeless and the young people who are unable to afford homes find themselves without a roof over their head. We in this place should understand that, and we should reach out and give them more support. I call on the government to look at the homeless situation, particularly that of our youth, and to look at drug addiction and the reserves and the support that need to be put out there. Regional South Australia's drug addiction is increasing and the rehabilitation centres are not there. No-one is putting a hand out to give them a hand so that they do not reoffend. I commend this motion to the house.

Mr ODENWALDER (Little Para) (16:00): I rise to oppose this motion but not because I disagree necessarily with the member's sentiments. These are complex issues and no-one likes to see homelessness and their fellow human beings sleeping rough. It is true that so much of this is domestic violence-related. Too much of this is domestic violence-related, and it is particularly distressing, of course, when you see kids sleeping rough, and I have seen that myself. I have seen kids sleeping rough in cars and it is heartbreaking.

I oppose this motion because it ignores the efforts and the achievements of this government in relation to making housing more affordable. We are addressing homelessness and we are attempting, and often succeeding, in easing the cost-of-living pressures for those on low and fixed incomes. It is important that these accomplishments are recognised, and I would like to take the opportunity to place some of them on the record.

Before I do, though, I would also like to acknowledge and commend the exceptional work done by many of our service groups, our non-government organisations and other community-based groups in our community. There are many of these organisations working tirelessly in our community to help struggling families. They provide invaluable support and assistance to the vulnerable, the isolated and to disadvantaged people, as well as working collaboratively with the government. On behalf of the government and this parliament, I extend thanks to all community service groups for the great work they do.

Adelaide is considered one of the world's most liveable cities. We are understandably proud of this, but we do understand that there are many South Australians who struggle to balance competing financial pressures, such as mortgage or rent, school fees, utility bills and the cost of essentials, such as food and clothing. Upon taking office, the Premier laid out his seven key strategic priorities for our state, one of which was ensuring that South Australia remains an affordable place to live, and since 2011 much work has taken place towards this end.

This government is committed to working across a broad range of housing options to meet housing needs, including developing new opportunities for affordable housing. The member already mentioned the government's Renewing our Streets and Suburbs program, which means that over the next 15 years a lot of our old Housing Trust stock is being replaced with new contemporary housing much better suited to the needs of the community, the changing demographics and the changing ethnic makeup of our communities.

This government has also been working with financial institutions to improve the purchasing power of buyers and working with industry on design measures that will help make housing more affordable without impacting on its quality. Housing SA has moved from a waiting list to a housing register model, which means that people seeking housing assistance get help to access a broad range of housing services appropriate to their circumstances. This is far more than just public housing.

For example, South Australians struggling to access affordable housing can also get help with information, private rental, homelessness support, and public or community housing. Over 85 per cent of people on Housing SA's category 1 list have received at least one of these services in the past year. Through the Department for Communities and Social Inclusion, the government provides a range of concessions as well as Affordable Living programs which aim to ease the cost of living for people on low and fixed incomes and which help them to have greater control of their own finances. In 2014-15, around $163.3 million was allocated through DCSI for concessions, benefiting over 200,000 households.

On top of this, many different services are offered through the suite of Affordable Living programs. This financial year, around $10.7 million will be provided for these programs. This includes funding for financial counselling, financial assistance, emergency electricity payments, low income support, utilities, literacy and microfinance products, including the new Good Money store at Salisbury. In fact, within a few short months of establishing the new Good Money store at Salisbury, Good Shepherd and the Good Money store team have delivered 100 no-interest loans to the community; that is, 100 loans that would not otherwise have been provided and 100 people who would be worse off if it were not for this store. Additional support is also provided through the spectacles scheme, the funeral assistance program, the personal alert system rebate scheme and the Companion Card program.

Importantly, the state government has acted to look after South Australian pensioners and low income earners through the introduction of the Cost of Living Concession. Rather than a rebate off a bill, this concession is a direct payment that can be applied as a person sees fit. Making this concession available to tenants means that an estimated 45,000 additional households are now eligible for support. Three new Foodbank hubs have been opened: one in my electorate, at Elizabeth; one at Edwardstown; and one at Port Pirie, helping people with emergency food relief in times of crisis. The government has also supported the Affordable SA helpline, together with more funds for financial counselling.

However, making real improvements in the quality of life of South Australians is a job that government cannot do alone, that is why we partner with the non-government sector and the broader community to deliver vital support to our community. Such assistance includes financial counselling, emergency assistance and, more recently, tenancy management through the transfer of public housing to the community sector.

The variety of service and community groups that administer these programs is wide and their reach across the state is huge. Their capacity to collaborate and to work together with government is something that we in South Australia can be truly proud of. But, of course, there is always more that can be done and this government is committed to doing so. We are committed to ensuring that South Australia is a healthy, safe and just place to live, where people with limited means can participate fully in the great quality of life we have here. As such, the government will be opposing this motion and I urge others to do the same.

Ms SANDERSON (Adelaide) (16:06): I rise to support the motion and I commend the member for Chaffey for bringing such an important motion to this chamber. I note the member for Little Para states that, although he agrees with the principle, he is not supporting the motion. However, if you read the motion carefully it says that it 'calls on the State Government to further address'. It is not saying that you are not addressing the issue, it is saying that it requires further addressing because, clearly, not enough is being done.

If it was, then why would the Salvation Army's report, their National Economic and Social Impact Survey released yesterday, called Out of Reach, highlight as their number one item the accessibility of suitable, affordable and sustainable long-term housing? If enough was being done it would not be highlighted. I would call on the government to support this motion. Further, in the Salvation Army report, which was released yesterday, there was a quote:

People need a stable foundation to start with for labour market programs to work. What they need is a ladder of opportunity to pull them up—support to make them employable…

And housing is at the very base of that requirement for people to actually get jobs. The member for Chaffey mentioned the issues in the Riverland. I too have been out with Life Without Barriers and the member for Chaffey on both the dinghy and the four-wheel drive tours to see the campsites of homeless people who cannot afford rental properties, nor can they afford to purchase their own properties. I have also been out with many of the service providers throughout metropolitan Adelaide including Street to Home; there are dozens of them out there.

So, things are certainly being done. The council is sending people out early in the morning to visit the common sites where people sleep to see that they are okay. One morning when I went out with the Street to Home team we found a homeless couple and they were both found housing, so it was a good morning to be able to meet some people and hear their stories.

There are lots of reasons why people are homeless. A lot of boarding houses do not allow couples, which is one reason why couples would choose to be homeless. I have met people eating at the Hutt Street Centre who were there for that very reason, that they were not prepared to be separated, yet there is no housing available for them as a couple so to sleep in the Parklands, basically, was their only option. So, we do need to address this more and the government does need to do more, and although I acknowledge that they are doing a considerable amount, more needs to be done. I will quote from this year's ROG (report on government services):

A lack of adequate and affordable housing contributes to housing stress and homelessness, and is detrimental to people's physical and mental health. Homelessness affects life expectancy, with homeless people estimated to live 15-20 years less than the mainstream population.

There are widespread consequences of not fixing the homelessness problem. I am told by people who work in the prison system that the prison population goes up in winter because there are actually homeless people who would prefer to break the law to go to prison so that they have a roof over their head and three square meals a day, because that is a far better option than the option they have of sleeping out.

We know that a homeless man was found dead in the river recently and we know that a homeless woman was found last year in the car park at Business SA, so we know how dangerous it is sleeping out in the Parklands and sleeping rough. We know there are other alternatives: that homeless people break the law to go to prison, some of them end up in hospital, which also costs a lot of money, and many of them end up with mental health problems that last a lifetime, which is also a considerable expense for the government. More money should be spent up-front to provide adequate housing, more boarding houses, facilities like Common Ground, perhaps facilities where couples can live. We should address this issue earlier to avoid long-term health issues and mental health issues.

Last year, I went to a housing round table. Some of the points that came out of that round table were that 12 per cent of homelessness looks like Hutt St, so the perceived single older man, yet 25 per cent of homeless people are actually 16 to 25 years old and 60 per cent are families or single parents with children. Certainly they are very keen to make sure that there is wider appreciation that homelessness is not just older single men, that it affects a wide range of people, and it is particularly sad when it affects children. They were saying that most people are only two to three pays away from poverty and many are only six pays away from homelessness.

It is also noted in many of these different forums and meetings that I have been to that alcohol is actually the most harmful drug. We do hear a lot about ice and illicit drugs, but alcohol is also a major factor contributing to homelessness. Many homeless people have contacted my office to express their anguish that Housing SA properties are being left empty when they do not have a home to live in.

Linsell Lodge was a Salvation Army property off Whitmore Square. I have had many homeless people contact me to say, 'Why am I sleeping in the Parklands when there's this five-storey building that's sitting there empty?' It is empty due to the fire regulations and some of the building code upgrades. I understand the need for safety, but it is not good for a homeless person to see an empty building because it is not up to the high standards of the code. Maybe we need to look at the strictness of some of our codes when it means that we have properties sitting there empty and idle while we have homeless people sleeping rough, endangering their lives. With that in mind, I will quote from the Liberal Party policy that was recently released regarding the adaptive re-use of Adelaide's buildings:

Rather than just sitting empty, dilapidated and underutilised, we want to see these buildings come alive again—whether that be for hospitality, residential or office purposes.

We do need to look at how we can re-use space, buildings that are empty. We have a lot of empty office space in the city that could potentially be converted to residential. I believe that there is a lot of empty office space in the lower types of rentals, rentals that have not been upgraded and do not have all the bells and whistles that people want these days. That is an ideal opportunity, and they are doing it a lot in New York.

I visited there recently and, because people are more mobile with their businesses, taking their laptops to cafes and meeting with clients, and a lot are working from home, they are re-using a lot of the old office buildings now for housing. That could be a way that we could get more housing in the city where there are vacant spaces. I would like to note that, as at 20 May this year, there were 21,079 people on the Housing SA waiting list, and 3,471 of those were category 1. These are people living in extreme vulnerability that are waiting for houses.

There are always stories in the paper. There was one last year stating that a Housing Trust home had been vacant for 2,849 days, which is almost eight years. It was one of 1,000 properties that were ready to rent out but were not being rented, and there are 3,000 people waiting for accommodation. There are things that can be done. I acknowledge the government is working on this, but there is a lot more that could be done.

A COAG agreement was signed in 2007 by the then minister to transfer up to 35 per cent of the South Australia Housing Trust properties to non-government organisations in order to take advantage of commonwealth rental assistance. This was signed nine years ago and agreed to by this Labor government; however, it was only last year that we had our first significant transfer of 1,100 homes. The government is falling behind on its own agreement. The government's failure to act on this policy means that the advantage of commonwealth rental assistance going to places like Anglicare and Unity Housing, which received the first transfer, would be able to be re-used to build further affordable housing. I commend this motion to the house, and I call on the government to support it because more can be done.

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE (Wright) (16:16): I will just make a very quick contribution. The member for Little Para made a very detailed presentation about the situation as we see it in South Australia. Can I just make the point that I think perhaps the member for Chaffey has made a mistake in his motion. He:

…calls on the state government to further address the long-term waiting lists for affordable housing and homelessness in South Australia;

I do not think there is any waiting list for homelessness, as serious as that matter is. Nonetheless, I want to make the point that the issue of homelessness was not even on the political agenda or anyone's radar until Labor came to government in 2002.

The issue of homelessness was driven very hard by premier Rann at the time. I am going to outline for the house just a few of the initiatives that were put in place. We have heard from the member for Adelaide about Housing SA houses being empty. Of course, they are empty for lots of reasons. Sometimes they are empty because there is a change of tenant. They are empty on any given day because repairs and upgrades are being made. They are empty because they might be part of a redevelopment that is occurring. So, there is a churn of houses all the time.

When the Liberals were last in government, they sold 11,000 Housing SA properties. They sold them; they did not transfer them to non-government organisations so that they can get the benefits from the federal government. They sold them, and then they have the temerity to come in here and lecture us about homelessness. It is nice, however, that they are finally starting to think a little bit about homelessness.

One of the initiatives that Mike Rann brought to South Australia—and we were the first in Australia to do so—was to establish Common Ground. Common Ground had been operating in New York for some time, and I had the privilege of visiting a couple of the Common Ground facilities there. I have to say, our facilities in South Australia are much better; they are fantastic. They provide secure housing for people who are homeless and people who are on low incomes. They also provide medical and dental services. They help give people the skills they need to eventually transfer out into independent living.

So we have two Common Ground facilities here in the city, and also established in Port Augusta where I think the accommodation was made so that it would better fit families up there. I heard a fantastic story at the opening of the second Common Ground facility, and the member for Adelaide was right in saying that any one of us at any time could find ourselves in that situation. There was a wonderful story told to the gathered crowd and I do not think there was a dry eye in the place.

There was a young woman who had been sexually abused when she was about 14. She came from a wealthy family and went to a private school. She was abused by someone her father knew. She never told anyone and she ended up on the streets taking drugs, etc. This young woman told the crowd that Common Ground saved her life, that she was back at university and she had transitioned into her own independent living. It was one of the most moving stories, and I think it actually resonated with people that it was not just a particular type of person or a particular person from a low income area or a poor suburb who can find themselves homeless and in these situations; it can be anyone. Common Ground was established under a Labor government.

The other amazing facility—and I do not expect that anyone on the opposition has been to visit it—is The Terrace on South Terrace. This was a Housing SA initiative which was transferred over and is managed by Unity Housing. There are some beautiful old bluestone villas that would have been the holiday houses of the rich and famous in the early years of South Australia and we built some low-level apartment buildings behind that. At full capacity, it accommodates 100 people.

The accommodation there allows people to transfer from the street into a very open and simple room so that people are not feeling crowded and overwhelmed by space, and they slowly transition up into self-contained accommodation. At the opening of that facility, three of the clients came up to me; they had been out and bought themselves suits from the local op shop. They were so proud to be tenants there. These young men said to me that they could not believe how lucky and fortunate they were, because if they were living in Sydney they would be paying $800 a week for their accommodation, yet they had safe and secure accommodation on site, with support on site 24 hours a day. The fantastic thing about that story is that one of those people again transitioned into his own independent accommodation and now supports people at the Hutt Street Centre. It is a fantastic story.

In relation to young people, when I was minister for housing I went down to Port Adelaide to have a look at the Black Diamond Hotel, which Housing SA had purchased in partnership with the Labor federal government at the time to turn it into a supported housing facility for young homeless people. I looked around that building and thought, 'This is either going to be really great or it's going to be one unholy disaster.'

Let me tell you that at the opening it was just fantastic. You could not imagine better accommodation. No young person going into that accommodation could not help but feel a sense that they mattered. There is 24-hour support, AFL footballers providing mentoring, and elite netballers and basketballers supporting the young women. The young people have to be either learning or earning to be in that place, so there is strict criteria about going in there. There is strong supervision and psychological support on site. There was a lot of whipping up of fear in that community when that facility was being constructed. I have to congratulate the Port Adelaide council, because they stood firm behind this fantastic initiative.

Of course, we then built the Uno Apartments in Wakefield Street. As part of that, it has accommodation for homeless youth straight off the street, Housing SA apartments, as well as apartments that provide for community housing, affordable purchase and market sales, so a complete mix. Young people have their own entrance so that they are secure. The staff know where they are at any given time, and they are able to help them through the trauma when they come off the streets. Again, that is a fantastic facility.

When the global financial crisis hit and the then prime minister, Kevin Rudd, provided stimulus money for housing, I said to the department, 'I don't want 1,365 three-bedroom houses because they'll go up in a puff of wind and no-one will notice.' So we were very strategic about where that money was spent and how it was spent. Some of it was spent in the Riverland, and I went up there and met one of the women who had moved into a new house. She was a grandmother who had been living in a shed, or a caravan, at the time, and caring for her grandson.

When I visited that woman's house, she was so incredibly proud and pleased, but it was very simple. In the lounge room she had two deck chairs, a cardboard box, and a television set—but you would have thought she was a multimillionaire. I have to say that it was absolutely wonderful. We contacted one of the non-government organisations here in Adelaide and they provided vouchers for her to be able to go and furnish her house. Rubys is another homelessness service for young people that the state and federal governments support.

I could go on and on about this government's list of initiatives, but I would stress that the opposition here should be talking to the federal government about their cutting of money to homelessness. So do not come in here with your mealy-mouthed motions, when your lot—

Members interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE: —cut the money.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! The member's time has expired. Member for Hammond.

Members interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member for Hammond is entitled to be heard in silence. I will not have his time interrupted by interjection. My protection is yours again, member for Hammond.

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (16:27): Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and I always appreciate your protection. I am just a wilting violet in this house.

The Hon. S.W. Key: Shrinking.

Mr PEDERICK: Shrinking—thank you.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: He may be wilting.

Mr PEDERICK: I note the motion from the member for Chaffey:

That this house—

(a) calls on the state government to further address the long-term waiting lists for affordable housing and homelessness in South Australia—

Members interjecting:

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!

Mr PEDERICK: You had your go.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I am on my feet. Member for Wright, member for Chaffey, go outside and talk to each other. You can go for 15 minutes, if you like: 15 minutes together of sin bin. Member for Hammond.

The honourable member for Wright having withdrawn from the chamber:

Mr PEDERICK: They do not appear to want to have a cup of tea together. The member for Chaffey's motion continues:

(b) urges the state government to take decisive action to help reduce the cost of living pressures in this state; and

(c) acknowledges the outstanding work undertaken by service groups across the state to help the less fortunate.

In speaking to this motion, it is well known across the state that there is so much homelessness and so much more work that needs to be done. Certainly, that came to the fore during the Social Development Committee in regard to domestic violence and the issues of homelessness around domestic violence, when women and children have to get out of their home for their own safety and find emergency accommodation and then longer term accommodation. It is an absolutely vital service for those people in those situations.

It is to be noted that the rising client debt levels of Housing SA have risen by $1 million a year since 2012 and trebled to a $3 million increase last financial year, 2014-15, to $25.3 million. This does not include bad debts that have been written off. There is a category 1 waiting list. Certainly, in my electorate I have people who, for a range of reasons—generally health reasons and some with homelessness reasons—try to get on that category 1 waiting list so that they can find the appropriate accommodation. We have those services in my electorate, but there is certainly not enough of them.

We note that the category 1 waiting list has increased by 10 per cent from 3,069, in the years 2013-14, to 3,368 in 2014-15. These are our people who need the most support, and they are our most vulnerable. There are 21,190 people who are on the Housing SA waiting list in South Australia, which is a very slight improvement of 37 less than in the previous year. At this rate, it will take 572 years to fulfil the waiting list.

I have quite a few constituents who come to me from time to time with issues. Sadly, I have a case at the moment of a disabled lady whose accommodation is just not working out. I have actually taken that issue directly to the Minister for Mental Health to see that we get the appropriate outcome. I am trusting that we will get the appropriate outcome because there has been quite a bad situation with the housemate in this current care house. I just hope we get that sorted out appropriately.

You have issues with people living in some of these houses with neighbours they are not happy with or neighbours who are disgruntled, so they apply for another house. It takes time sometimes, but I think the issue is: where is the money to go in to help these most vulnerable people in the state? They certainly need support right across all of our electorates. If they do not get that support, it just becomes something that we cannot be proud of. They are the most vulnerable, and we should be doing more to help these people.

I take my hat off to the non-government officers who support this work in assisting the homeless, including ac.care, UnitingCare, Centacare and others who get on board to make sure we get the right outcomes but, at the end of the day, you need that base government support and that base finance to be in place. It is ridiculous to have nearly 600 years' of people on waiting lists—it is just crazy. We need the investment in the right place to make sure we can help these most vulnerable right across the state, wherever they may be.

We note what is going on in the state at the moment, and there are not too many bright lights. As I indicated only this week in the house, agriculture is probably the last bright light in the state. Agriculture always has its issues, and we are struggling to get enough rain at the minute for the dryland farmers. I note, for the week at home, we have only had 10.5 millimetres of rain, so we are a long way down from Mount Hope in Flinders. We would certainly love the 51 millimetres they have had down there.

I think the South-East has had some good rains in the last few weeks. I heard of 50 millimetres in one place down there the other day. They certainly need it because, quite frankly, on a recent trip to Lucindale for the field days I had never seen the South-East looking the way it did before these recent rains. I have been travelling down there for over 30 years, and it was almost horrifying to see how bare the ground was.

There are issues for everyone, but what we are seeing in this state now is the wind-down of the steel industry and mining. We have seen what has happened at Leigh Creek and what is going to happen when Holden closes. Detroit said they were going to leave South Australia, and they are leaving South Australia. No matter what subsidies were paid to them, it was their decision at the end of the day. There is a big transformation, and I must say there are some very smart companies aligned with the car industry that are undergoing transformation. It is a lot of work trying to keep their employees on.

I note that in regard to employment the Ingham proposal could employ many hundreds of people, or close to 100,000 all-up, with building facilities in the north of Adelaide through Monarto, and up to 20 full-time jobs at Yumali in my area, with close to the same number of part-time jobs in that area. There will also be a net increase of not just five but 20 jobs created at the local feed mill that is going to be built at Murray Bridge.

That is great news, but we are seeing so many people who are losing their jobs and who are losing faith in the economy, struggling with their power bills, struggling with the cost of living, struggling with the ever-increasing emergency services levy, which has gone up another 1½  per cent. I really fear for the good citizens of this state, especially those who do our emergency services work—the CFS members (and there are quite a few of us on this side who are in the CFS), the SES members and the MFS—and who do great work in protecting our homes, our buildings, our lives and our properties, yet everyone is being hit with more and more land tax increases with this emergency services levy. Reality has to come into play. The government just has to stop looking upon the population of this state as a tax cash cow and do far more to assist the vulnerable, the homeless, and those looking for other housing options, especially those on the category 1 list.

The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light) (16:36): I would like to make a contribution to this motion and debate. The issue of homelessness is very complex. Certainly, we all need to do all we can to assist the homeless. I think we need to understand that homelessness is more than not just having a roof over your head. That is certainly the hard edge of homelessness, not having a roof over your head, and I appreciate that, but it is a lot more.

It is not until you understand what you do in your home that you understand the importance of having a house or accommodation. For example, a home is where you live with a partner, children, or your family, etc. It is where you sit around the kitchen table and chat about things and have family time. It is a place where you meet with friends and engage with the community and extended family, etc. Homelessness is more than not having a home; it is about being isolated from the community in a very big way.

That is what makes it so complex, because people who become homeless are homeless for a whole range of reasons. In saying that, I am not making any judgement because if not for the grace of God there go I. I am very fortunate because I have had a loving family and friends. We migrated to this country and therefore we had opportunities, so I am very fortunate and I certainly would not look down at people who become homeless. I recall doing some volunteer work (a very small amount, I acknowledge) at the Hutt Street Centre, where I talked to workers and volunteers. I had the opportunity to meet a whole range of homeless people who are seeking assistance from Hutt Street. Hutt Street does a wonderful job, as do many other organisations, in supporting our homeless people.

When you hear individual stories, it is quite terrifying to realise that if you make one major bad decision in your life or if something happens you can go from being a very successful businessperson one day to a homeless person the next. People, for example, whose marriages or relationships break up may turn to alcohol or something. One moment they have a happy family life and the next moment they are homeless, as are women and children who are homeless as a result of domestic and family violence.

The reasons are many and complex, and there is no one solution. The general myth is that homeless people are homeless because they want to be homeless, and that is just not true. Those people who cannot grasp living in what you might call a 'mainstream lifestyle' often have mental health issues, and there is a range of reasons they are homeless.

That is one reason that when I was minister I supported people who were ex-offenders, making sure we gave homes to ex-offenders as well. If you are serious about reducing crime in our society and making sure that we rehabilitate offenders and give people second chances, a home is a very important part in that rehabilitation program. That has been shown clearly by research: people who have a home to go to when they leave prison or some sort of detention centre actually do much better in their rehabilitation.

As a parent, one of the things which fulfilled me the most when my children were young was seeing my children asleep at night, safe in their beds. I would think the day had been worthwhile whatever I had done that day at work, and that is what having a home means. It means all those things, it is more than just bricks and mortar. It is a whole range of emotional things, it is cultural things, and a whole range of things which make us human beings. It is so important in our society.

I attended a play, ironically by Stephen House, a South Australian playwright and actor, which was about homelessness. The very strong message from this play was how homeless people become invisible in our society. We get so used to seeing homeless people and we just walk past them in the street, not so much in Adelaide, but when you go to the bigger cities like Sydney and Melbourne there are a lot of people living on the street, particularly on street corners. It is so easy to become oblivious to those individuals and their circumstances. They become invisible and the main message of this play was how people just forget there is a human being behind that homeless person.

I will not repeat what has been said by a number of members on this side of the house because this government, since 2002, has a proud history of what we have endeavoured to do on homelessness and making housing affordable.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. A. PICCOLO: Let me finish. I am not suggesting that we have the issue resolved; I am not suggesting that at all, but our record is second to none in this country. I was very fortunate to attend places like Common Ground, Uno Apartments and the Ladder project where we have not just put people in homes but have helped them rebuild their lives so that they do not become homeless again.

There was a cycle of homelessness. This approach, which we have used as a government with places like Common Ground, which we support financially, and the Ladder project and a number of other projects, emphasises that we need to understand why people have become homeless. What do we need to do to help people to make sure they stabilise their lives and then grow again as individuals and not become homeless again? It might be TAFE or other studies, it might be a range of health supports, etc.

These projects have been supported by this government for a number of years and have been supported to different degrees by federal governments, particularly when the previous Labor government supported the initiatives in trying to reduce homelessness. The third part of the motion, paragraph (c), I am quite happy to support, but paragraphs (a) and (b) are quite offensive. It does two things: (1) it implies it is only a state responsibility to deal with this issue and, (2) it does not acknowledge the work we actually have done. We have done both.

As I said, we do not have the issue resolved. We have worked hard towards it and we need to do more, but it is a partnership. It is a partnership with the federal government and, from my experience in my previous role, I can say that sometimes there is a lack of understanding at the commonwealth level of what homelessness means and what the challenge is before us. I also talk about that in terms of the disability sector where they had no understanding of how we were going to transition from the state disability services to a national scheme and how we would actually make housing available for people with disabilities, and that is very important.

That is an area of concern I have because we have the money for packages for disabilities but we may not have accommodation for them to become independent individuals, and that concerns me a lot. Certainly from my discussions with the federal people at that time, they really did not understand that you have to do some work up-front to achieve that. I think that this is an important issue and that we need to work closely with the federal government and also the not-for-profit sector, as they do play an important role.

I was in my previous role when we initiated the process to transition the first tranche of public housing to the community sector. That was done because we could see that by doing that we actually get more money into the state and into those communities and also have opportunities to partner with local government. It is no secret that one of the local councils had discussions with me about partnering with us to improve services in that area. This motion does not do that. Unfortunately, this motion does not, firstly, acknowledge what we have done and, secondly, the motion implies that it is just a state government responsibility, and it is not.

We also need to work out—and this is also true in the disability sector—how we structure programs and schemes to get an injection of private investment in this sector too. I think it is very important because governments can provide the support and the client base for ongoing housing, but we need to get some things built today and we need an injection of investment. Housing does provide a steady return, so we need to work out how governments work together with the private sector to have an injection of money into this sector because we need a lot more housing in this area, particularly for people with disabilities.

Whether it is South Australia, or a Liberal government in New South Wales, or a Labor government in Victoria, we are all in the same boat. They all say the same thing, that we need to make sure we get an injection of funds from the private sector into this area to ensure that we provide that. We need to understand that, to resolve this issue, we must work as a community and we need to support those people in homelessness, but at the same time we must never forget—and I repeat, never forget—what it actually means to be homeless. It is more than just not having a roof over your head.

Mr WHETSTONE (Chaffey) (16:46): In closing, I would like to thank some of the government members for their constructive contributions to this motion. The member for Light does raise the issue that it is about a partnership with state governments and the federal government and that it is also an NGO partnership with government to address this issue. The majority of the contribution was all about what we have done and not about what we are going to do, and this motion is about the government needing to further their efforts. They need to do more. It is not attacking the government.

This motion is about an experience I have had with my constituents. It is an experience I have had that I felt strongly enough about that I thought that the motion needed to be brought to the house. The responsibility of government is just about that—it is about governing the situation that the state is in, particularly in relation to homelessness and increasing youth homelessness. It is confronting to see people living under sheets of iron, canvas and whatnot on the edge of the river. It is confronting to see a family living in a car. It is confronting. It is not about a single individual living in a car. It is about a mother and her children or a husband and his wife living in a car, and these are very serious issues.

The member for Wright is out of line. She is living in the past, attacking the motion on what she calls 'what we have done'. Again, she is living in history. Quite frankly, for the member for Wright to say that there is no waiting list for homelessness I think is outrageous. I would like to give you a little bit of an example. As of 31 May 31 2015, in Chaffey the category 1 waiting list had more than doubled in the previous 12 months and our waiting list grew overall. Often, I speak and write to the department highlighting the long waiting list for public housing in my electorate. In some cases, people are waiting two years for public housing requests and, yes, they may be category 3 now, but if they cannot find suitable accommodation they will soon end up in category 1.

I want to give a description of category 1. Category 1 applicants are in urgent need of housing—e.g. homeless. They are homeless, in urgent need of housing, and they are unable to access private rental housing options. Housing SA tenants, who have urgent reasons for requiring relocation, may also be placed in category 1. So, it just shows you that the member for Wright would not know if her hand were on fire, quite frankly.

In closing, I want to say that, as a state, we need to increase our attention and focus on these people and do everything within our power to reduce the number of people without a permanent roof over their head. Growing jobs is one way in which we can assist that measure. As I said, in my electorate of Chaffey it is extremely confronting to see people living on the riverbanks, living in cars, isolated from the rest of the community in many ways, and primarily it ends up with homelessness.

I am hoping that as a state this is something we can all work towards stopping. The funding to assist our most vulnerable must increase. As I listen to those agencies and service centres, they tell me that funding continues to be reduced, so I urge the government to do more.

The house divided on the motion:

Ayes 16

Noes 21

Majority 5

Motion thus negatived.

Sitting extended beyond 17:00 on motion of Hon. L.W.K. Bignell.