I know I’m noticing a lot of healthy, smartly dressed younger people around town with big backpacks and bedrolls, the mark of the couch surfer.
The Greens’ Amanda Bresnan is also ringing the bell over the families forced to live in cars:
ACT Greens Housing spokesperson, Amanda Bresnan MLA, has today questioned the Minister for Housing as to whether anecdotal evidence that homelessness is on the rise is correct. The Minister was unable to answer the question, and unable to confirm homeless numbers or whether they are indeed on the rise.
“My office has been told that there are currently about twenty families in Canberra who are having to use options like sleeping in their cars because they can’t get into emergency accommodation,” Ms Bresnan said today.
“The lack of affordable housing and rental properties in Canberra is hitting very hard, and I am concerned we are seeing a rise in number of families and singles that can’t find or afford a roof to sleep under.
“The Government established First Point phone service to assist people with finding emergency accommodation. However if there is no housing available, then this will discourage people and families from accessing this and other services.
“There are a number of goals that the ACT Government has set itself in relation to homelessness, but I fear the ACT is moving away from rather than towards those goals.
2CC is reporting the Liberals are starting to wake up to this, albeit from a more bourgeoise perspective:
The OPPOSITION’S comments follow the release of the latest BANKWEST assessment of affordability across Australia, which shows some workers cannot buy properties which are five times their earnings.
Liberals leader, ZED SESLEJA, says his party feared that would happen because of policies the Stanhope LABOR government has pursued over the past nine years.
One wonders how the promised consideration of hostels is going?