New South Wales (NSW) is investing over $55 million (US$36 million) a year in hotel rooms for homeless people as rent increases are skyrocketing in Australia’s most populous state.
Housing Minister Rose Jackson said the number of people in temporary accommodation, a place where homeless people get a shower and shelter, has surged in recent years.
She blamed the increase in homeless people on the lack of affordable housing, saying that “thousands and thousands more people require that motel room, require that hotel room because the only other option is to sleep on the street.”
Speaking to the Property Council of Australia summit on Wednesday, she said people have a sense that it’s bad, but they don’t realise “just how stretched and dysfunctional and overwhelmed the system that is actually trying to respond to it is.”
In the last financial year, NSW poured $55.5 million into temporary accommodation, a 22 percent increase on the previous period.
Despite the spending, the number of homeless people rose by 34 percent, according to the latest homelessness street count released last week.
The latest Census also revealed that homelessness had increased five percent between 2016 and 2021, and children’s homelessness has surged 12 percent. Women and children also make up 56 percent of people experiencing homelessness.
The rental crisis is particularly acute along the eastern seaboard, where rents for a typical unit in Sydney went up almost 30 percent over the past year, compared to about 24 percent in Melbourne and Brisbane.
It comes as the NSW Labor government introduced new planning rules that will accelerate the approval process for housing developments valued at more than $75 million and of which at least 15 percent is to be proposed for affordable housing.
Previously, the state Labor Party’s shared equity scheme has been criticised as a poor government housing policy that fails to tackle the fundamental cause of Australia’s affordability problem.
Bridge Housing chief executive Rebecca Pinkstone said planning processes are skewed towards property owners, and people without a home are often unable to argue the case for well-located, affordable housing development.
“There’s such a growing population now who will always be renting, and their voices are completely ignored in this debate,” she said.
Pinkstone attributed the lack of affordable housing in Sydney’s northern beaches to opposition from the community level.
“It’s always property owners who are in their standalone homes that are complaining about this, but really we need more housing that meets the needs of our community,” she said.
CEO of Homelessness Australia Kate Colvin said the government have the power to alleviate the housing crisis.
“Rents are soaring, yet income support payments aren’t keeping up. This is putting incredible pressure on household budgets and homelessness services. People are making unhealthy sacrifices such as skipping meals, heating their homes and doctor appointments just to make the rent,” Colvin said.
“Commonwealth Rent Assistance needs to rise by 50 percent. JobSeeker and Youth Allowance must increase to at least $76 a day for all age groups. At least 25,000 social housing properties should be built across Australia each year. And homelessness services need increased investment to support the growing number of people needing support.”
