State Member for Wallsend, Ms Sonia Hornery MP, will today move a Notice of Motion in the NSW Parliament urging the Premier to develop a concerted, whole of Government approach to addressing housing pressures in NSW.
The cost of living is rising and the housing affordability crisis is worsening, while wage growth is stagnant and chronic unemployment and underemployment is a fact of life for many people in Wallsend.
Homelessness in the Hunter region grew by 12 per cent from 2011-2016, with 1747 sleeping rough during the last census. There were 116,427 people in Australia classified as homeless, and the homelessness rate grew by 37 per cent in NSW from 2011 to 2016.
Quotes attributable to Member for Wallsend, Sonia Hornery
“Homelessness is on the rise in our local community. Service providers in Wallsend are being swamped by people facing extreme housing pressures.”
“For many who face homelessness, whether they sleep rough, couch surf or live out of their cars, accessing services can be extraordinarily difficult, if not impossible. They may not know how to make use of services or whether they even exist.”
“Increasing house prices and rents, as well as public housing shortages, are forcing a growing number of people to sleep in their cars. Some are escaping from dangerous or abusive environments. Others suffer from underlying mental health issues.”
“Homelessness is a scourge on our society, and we must do everything we can to support those impacted by it, and everything we can to prevent more homelessness in the future.”
“My Notice of Motion urges the Premier to develop a concerted, whole of Government approach to addressing housing pressures in NSW.”
“For too many years we have only provided temporary solutions to people’s problems without adequately addressing the structural causes and investing in lasting solutions. We need to get our act together before the problem becomes too big to solve.”