Council to Homeless Persons (CHP) has called for the Victorian Government to fully fund all the recommendations it has accepted in its long-awaited response to a major homelessness report.
We welcome that the state government on Tuesday released its response to the parliamentary inquiry into homelessness, 899 days after it was due despite an intensifying housing crisis.
The government’s centrepiece Housing Statement policy, released last year, did not address the committee’s recommendations.
CHP CEO Deborah Di Natale called for Premier Jacinta Allan to revise the Housing Statement to fully fund the inquiry’s recommendations.
“Money is the missing ingredient in this overdue response to critical recommendations that will reduce homelessness in Victoria,” she said.
“Revising the Housing Statement so it tackles homelessness is absolutely crucial and will send a message that Premier Allan believes that everybody should have a home.
“We need an iron-clad commitment that this year’s state budget will include the full amount needed to implement these reforms.
“In its response to the inquiry, the government has rightly pointed out some of the excellent homelessness initiatives that have been funded.
“But in the three long years since the inquiry, the most serious housing crisis in living memory has only worsened.
“CHP would welcome the opportunity to sit on an oversight group to advise the government about the most efficient and effective way to make these recommendations work for people experiencing homelessness.
“There’s more than 30,000 people in Victoria on any given night experiencing homelessness. It’s critical they are represented when it comes to implementing these recommendations.”
Of the inquiry’s 51 recommendations, the government supported 45 fully or in-principle, committed to reviewing four and rejected two.
The government was due to respond to the parliamentary inquiry into homelessness on September 4 2021.
Fast facts:
Homelessness in Victoria rose 24% at the last Census
In 2021, more than 30,000 Victorians were without a home on Census night – almost 6,000 more than the previous Census in 2016
In December there were 60,708 applications for public and community housing on the waiting list
Victoria lags behind every other state and territory on social housing, with public and community housing residents making up just 2.8% of Victoria’s households
