National Housing and Homelessness Agreement

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) (14:04): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON: On 19 May 2017, I convened a meeting of the housing and homelessness ministers to consider critical housing and homelessness issues in the context of the 2017-18 federal budget. The federal budget included a range of initiatives that form part of the commonwealth's affordable housing plan, including a new National Housing and Homelessness Agreement that combines funding currently allocated to the National Affordable Housing Agreement (NAHA) and the National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness (NPAH).

While the original five-year NPAH supported innovation in the sector, the resulting short-term agreements have since been a challenge for future planning and staff retention. This proposed new agreement is expected to take effect from 1 July 2018 and will be ongoing. Subject to the detail, this will provide much-needed certainty around the sustainability of South Australia's homelessness sector, which currently employs approximately 800 people. While the new agreement is a welcome result for long-term homelessness funding, uncertainties still remain, including the possibility of new targets and how policy issues will be managed.

Further work is required to ensure that any new funding or policy arrangements will lead to improved housing outcomes for those most in need, and I will seek to ensure that South Australia plays a lead role in this work. For example, last year I met with the homelessness services sector to implement better support services for those sleeping rough. This led to the creation of the extreme weather framework, and funding from national partnership agreements is vitally important to providing those responses, including the Code Blue response in place tonight.

Another major omission from the budget and the comprehensive plan to address housing affordability is the lack of certainty for remote housing funding for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The National Partnership on Remote Housing ends on 30 June 2018, and one of our priorities will be to protect the achievements made under this agreement in order to meet future needs and to continue to respond to overcrowding. Over the time of the remote housing agreement, more than 200 South Australians have gained employment through associated capital works programs.

Sustained investment from all levels of government is imperative if we are to build on the strong foundation of achievements made possible through each of the current agreements. Time is running out to negotiate and agree on arrangements to secure longer term funding and continue to make inroads with respect to Closing the Gap targets. Along with my interstate colleagues, I will continue to advocate to the Turnbull Liberal government on these important issues for a longer term agreement in the best interests of our community.