Roger Jaensch,Minister for Housing
The only way to address the housing shortage and reduce homelessness is to provide more homes for those who need them.
We are working hard to deliver on our Plan, but we recognise there is still more to be done.
To accelerate the building of more houses to address this challenge, we have heavily front-ended our $125 million housing commitment in Stage Two of the Government’s Affordable Housing Strategy.
This Plan will expand the capacity of existing crisis shelters and build new ones, including a new Bethlehem House facility in the South of the state and expand existing shelters such as Magnolia House in Launceston.
In addition, the Government has extended funding for emergency support to provide secure, safe accommodation options to those Tasmanians who are homeless or at risk of experiencing homelessness as part of our second Action Plan.
This provides for additional staff for outreach support and capacity to provide a mix of cabins, hotel and motel-style accommodation.
We have spent almost $1.9 million on this program this financial year, and it will continue in our new four-year Plan.
This additional outreach support provides those Tasmanians in greatest need with access to safe and secure accommodation throughout the year.
Labor have no plan of their own – Rebecca White failed to outline even a single housing initiative of her own in her Budget reply speech, aside from holding an inquiry.
Anyone in need of help with housing should contact Housing Connect on 1800 800 588.
Housing fact Sheets can be viewed here: https://bit.ly/2MVvglJ
