Housing Stress

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (15:22): My question is to the Minister for Social Housing. What is the government doing to assist older women facing housing stress in our community?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON (Ramsay—Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion, Minister for Social Housing, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers) (15:22): I thank the member for this question and acknowledge her commitment to advocating for the needs of women, particularly older women, who need help in the housing market. We know that either renting or buying a house is our single biggest expense. Across my portfolio areas of social housing, youth, ageing and the status for women, I meet many people for whom having access to safe, suitable and stable housing is a challenge.

Housing SA has been undertaking work on new housing options for specific groups with high and growing needs, including two 90-Day Projects, focused on vulnerable young adults and also the private rental market. Another group with high representation across my portfolio are single women in the older age demographic. Across Australia, 32 per cent of older women live on their own, compared to 17 per cent of older men, and South Australia is proportionally the oldest of any mainland state.

In the past, we had a different expectation. In fact, women often had to resign after marriage. My own mother had to resign after the birth of my brother, and many of our mothers didn't get superannuation or paid maternity leave. As a result, many older women have lower levels of workforce experience, income and assets. These issues are compounded even more when a person is single and even more so when a person unexpectedly becomes single later in life. Remaining in or re-entering the workforce later in life is another area we are looking at, as this can be an intimidating prospect for anyone.

We are actively working to ensure that there is greater recognition of the need for flexible employment and leave arrangements, which are particularly vital for older women who so often play a critical role in providing support and care to both older and younger family members. Recently, I met with the Chair of the South Australian Housing Trust and the chief executive of HomeStart Finance to consider these needs.

South Australia led the country when we established Australia's first housing authority 80 years ago, and that level of innovation continued when we founded HomeStart in 1989. When I speak to HomeStart, they tell me that many of the loans that they are providing are for people starting over, people who have maybe lost a partner or have had a divorce later in life. I am confident in the drive and creativity of these agencies. We need a mix of new options to deliver results for a diverse range of people. Significantly, the change is often for people living alone, who are running the expenses of a household on their own.

The Housing Trust, HomeStart and the Department for Communities and Social Inclusion will continue to work together on a new round of innovation. As minister, I will continue to push for new housing options not just for older women but for all those who need our assistance in obtaining a safe and affordable house to live in. I got my first housing loan from HomeStart. At that point, they had a product that was for graduates, so they looked at that part of the market and knew that they needed extra support. It was at a time when we had seen an increase in the cost of purchasing a first home. I am confident that we can work together on focusing on how we can support older women to enter the housing market.

The Hon. L.W.K. Bignell interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The roué from Mawson is called to order. The leader.