Crushing consequences of housing crisis laid bare
Convened by Everybody’s Home, the People’s Commission’s report is based on the submissions and testimony of more than 1,500 Australians who voiced their experiences of the housing crisis and the action they want government to take.
The People’s Commission recommends the federal government create 750,000 social homes within two decades, abolish investor tax concessions, and coordinate strong national rental reform.
Other recommendations include: expanding social housing eligibility, recognising housing as a human right, raising the rate of working age payments, additional funding for crisis housing services, and improving productivity in home building by increasing the capacity of the modular housing industry.
The People’s Commission’s report also unveils new data from a survey of more than 120 frontline organisations ranking the top impacts of the housing crisis on clients:
• Nine in ten (90%) ranked stress or mental-ill health as one of the biggest impacts
• Three in four (75%) nominated homelessness
• Three in five (57%) said forgoing meals, medication or other essential services
• Two in five (39%) said disconnection from family or community
• One in three (32%) said inability to leave an unsafe home environment.
University of Sydney housing expert and Commissioner, from the Sydney School of Architecture Design and Planning Professor Nicole Gurran said: “The distressing testimony we’ve heard from people who’ve experienced housing stress, insecurity and homelessness reinforces the urgency for change and the solutions required.
“Those who took part in the People’s Commission came from all walks of life – from professional women unable to retire due to housing insecurity to young people unable to access the rental market, or people with a disability unable to find a suitable home.
The evidence they provided is an indictment on decades of failed housing policy, government inaction, and buck passing
“An overreliance on the private market has not and will not deliver the magnitude of affordable, secure housing that Australia needs.
“Instead, national leadership is needed to restore investment to social housing, fix the unfair and inefficient tax settings that fuel demand without delivering new supply, and ensure adequate rental subsidies and protections so that tenants in the private sector can access secure and decent homes.”
Co-Commissioner Doug Cameron, former Labor Senator and Parliamentary Secretary for Housing and Homelessness, has urged the new Housing Minister Clare O’Neil to listen to the voices of Australians who gave evidence to the People’s Commission.
“The federal government must step up and change course based on the overwhelming evidence that the status quo will not solve the crisis,” Mr Cameron said.
“I applaud the fact that the new Housing Minister expresses enthusiasm to tackle the housing crisis, however it’s troubling that failed “market solutions” such as investor tax breaks continue to take precedence over increased funding for social housing.
“The federal Housing Minister and government must listen to and act for the many Australians who gave evidence to the People’s Commission by urgently addressing the distorted tax system, the lack of affordable public and community housing, and the standard of rental housing.
“We’ve heard from hundreds of Australians who are paying the price for market failure, decades of underinvestment by government and an overreliance on the private sector. Too many Australians are paying the price of government inaction including having no option but to stay in domestic violence relationships, live in shoddy conditions, and go hungry.
“Without ambitious action and increased funding for social housing, we risk becoming a more divided country. In order to build a good society and a fair society, the federal government must act urgently on the voice of the disadvantaged, middle-income and professional Australians who provided insights and recommendations to the People’s Commission.”
Everybody’s Home spokesperson Maiy Azize said: “Too many Australians are staying in unsafe relationships, skipping meals, living with toxic mould, working insane hours, or moving away from loved ones just to keep a roof over their heads. Too many Australians are living in tents, caravans, on couches or the streets because there simply aren't enough safe, decent, affordable homes for them.
“The People's Commission has done more than showcase heartbreaking stories - it has shown that voters expect the government to step up on housing. It has shown that the human suffering of the housing crisis is a consequence of governments shifting their responsibility of delivering this essential infrastructure onto the private market.
“The People’s Commission offers the federal government solutions to make housing in Australia more secure and more affordable. Our leaders can’t waste another moment to rapidly build more social housing, phase out investor tax breaks and coordinate strong national rental reform.”