Joint Media Release: Once-in-a-generation leadership needed to tackle the ACT’s housing & homelessness problem
9 August 2024
ACTCOSS and ACT Shelter have today launched their shared housing and homelessness election platform, which calls on all political parties and candidates in the upcoming ACT Election to commit to transformational investment in social housing.
Amidst a housing crisis fuelling cost-of-living pressures, ACTCOSS and ACT Shelter warned of a deepening housing divide and growing homelessness if the next ACT Government does not take bold and decisive action.
“The community sector is of the consistent view that housing and homelessness is the single most important issue in the upcoming ACT election,” said ACTCOSS CEO, Dr Devin Bowles.
“Several parties and candidates have already pledged ambitious reform to the social housing system if elected. ACTCOSS and ACT Shelter call on other parties and candidates to seize the opportunity of this election to invest in the transformative change required,” said Dr Bowles.
“Social housing is economic, health and social infrastructure investment with $1 of public investment generating around $2.30 of economic activity elsewhere,” said Travis Gilbert, ACT Shelter CEO. “It is also social insurance, with recent modelling suggesting $1 of public investment in social housing, reduces future costs borne by health, justice and community safety and other public systems by $2.
“Secure housing is an enabler of better life outcomes benefiting recipients and government. Educational attainment leads to higher employment income, boosting tax revenue long term. We encourage all parties and candidates to have a sophisticated approach to this issue, and to reframe the housing narrative – from cost to investment and insurance,” said Mr Gilbert.
At the time of self-government in 1989, public housing comprised 12.2% of all housing in the ACT. By 2016, it had dropped to 6.7%, and by 2020 it was 6.2%. As Canberrans prepare to vote in 2024, only 5.7% of households in the ACT are in public housing.
“The status quo is clearly failing, and a transformative approach is required. Voters may well question the seriousness of any party or candidate that doesn’t have a clear, ambitious plan to address housing and homelessness in the ACT. It’s one of the most pressing policy failures in our community’s history,” said Dr Bowles.
“Government is about setting priorities. What higher priorities should a government have than ensuring that the nearly 400 children under 18 who are homeless are immediately provided with appropriate housing?” asked Dr Bowles.
“All Canberrans deserve a safety net that ensures we won’t end up couch surfing or sleeping rough,” said Dr Bowles.
“Growing social housing is the most effective means for the ACT Government to provide genuinely affordable, secure, quality homes on the scale needed to help those currently locked out of the housing market or facing a future of perpetual housing insecurity. An ambitious social housing policy offers the best chance to tackle the housing crisis and the harm it is causing individuals, families and the wider community,” said Dr Bowles.
“Alongside investment in social housing, our policy platform promotes reforms and investments to provide greater stability and protections for people who rent; ensure homelessness services meet demand and provide the support people need; improve housing outcomes for people with disability, mental health issues and other complex needs; and help close the gap in housing outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples,” said Mr Gilbert.
“While the private rental market is becoming increasingly unaffordable for many, there is scant social housing to fill the gap. The proportion of social housing relative to market housing in the ACT has continued to shrink. There are nine hundred more applicants than before the last election – a staggering 40% increase. Those applicants are waiting longer for a home. Rents have surged beyond CPI, making rent assistance a poor substitute for social housing in Canberra,” said Mr Gilbert.
“This election is an opportunity for the next government to set the ACT on a different pathway. This means committing to a plan for housing that is based on strategic, long-term thinking, with an infrastructure investment approach underpinning it. One that measures success by the outcomes achieved for the people priced out by the market.
“If we are going to reverse the current trajectory, the next ACT Government must incentivise and invest in short and long term in housing maintenance, renewal, and supply. We also need agreement across the Assembly to provide the level of political priority and commitment required.
“The downside of a buoyant property market is a sustained cost-of-living crisis driven by rising housing costs. Successive interest rises, on larger mortgages – for owner-occupiers and investors – have brought many individuals and families to breaking point and reliant on material aid providers to keep the lights on and food on the table,” said Mr Gilbert.
For more information or media comment, please contact:
Dr Devin Bowles, CEO, ACTCOSS, on 0413 435 080;
Mr Travis Gilbert, CEO, ACT Shelter, on 0437 166 610
Authorised by Dr Devin Bowles on behalf of the ACT Council of Social Service Inc (ACTCOSS)