Chris White, Adelaide
On any one night, some 7500 South Australians are homeless.
One obvious reason for this crisis is a lack of housing, caused by the federal Coalition government's 60% capital grants cut to the South Australian Housing Trust. The Commonwealth State Housing Agreement (CSHA) is the way much new construction of public housing is funded.
Since 1997, South Australia has reduced public housing far in excess of any other housing authority in Australia. This year, the CSHA cut another $12 billion from the Housing Trust. More of this so-called economic rationalism during the next five years will mean that the Coalition government is largely responsible for the homeless not getting a home.
Our community has a painfully high need for more safe, affordable public housing. There are 6600 people on the Housing Trust waiting list classified as having a high housing need. Nine-hundred people are in the extreme category, but it still takes them more than six months to be housed.
In the lower priority category-three waiting list, there are 27,000 low-income earners. These are the new working poor — in work, but precariously so: casuals, labour hire and contract workers, many of whom are women. The high rental costs in the private rental market contribute significantly to their long-term stress, yet they have to wait more than a decade to get into Housing Trust homes.
These figures do not include those already in social housing. The public housing sector would need to increase by 60% just to assist those low-income households currently in rental housing. Some 45,000 dwellings are required. The private rental market does not serve these needs. Although some individuals can access Commonwealth Rent Assistance, the real solution needs to be the construction of new homes.
We urgently need to build shelter for people: emergency accommodation, boarding houses and secure houses for the Community Housing Association and for Aboriginal Housing.
Despite a Messenger Press expose of the homelessness crisis, and numerous submissions and reports from organisations such as Shelter, the South Australian Council of Social Services and Homelessness SA, funding cuts to capital works programs continue.
The state's current funding shortfall to maintain our public housing stock is $160 million per year. Without this funding, our Housing Trust is forced to "cannibalise", selling off 1100 houses a year. During the past 10 years, there has been a reduction of 14,700 houses.
If the state's share of national housing stock is not restored to the previous level of 14.4%, South Australians will continue to lack affordable housing. Far too many people do not understand the plight of the homeless, and South Australian politicians, particularly Liberal ministers, could not care less.
Those in greatest need are homeless children; young women escaping domestic violence; families living in cars; the Aboriginal homeless; the mentally ill; offenders just out of prison; disadvantaged youth; and older single male alcoholics.
Homelessness is for many a grim and despairing existence. But the subculture in the words of the homeless is "not always depressing, not lonely because we meet a lot of people". However, a young man says it is difficult writing a CV in the dark and a homeless man living in a tree in North Adelaide is denied assistance because he does not have an address. Those who make it to public housing after a long wait have hope, privacy and a home they can call their own.
Shelter is a human right. Building low-cost public sector housing stimulates our economy. Housing contributes to health, community well-being and the stability that at least gives people an opportunity to look for employment.
So as this is an election year and Prime Minister John Howard has a gigantic surplus to spend, what about investing in public housing in the coming federal budget?
Housing is fundamental for social inclusion, health, social justice, child development, caring for the disabled, local jobs, crime reduction, building a cohesive community and a productive and competitive economy, and ensuring basic shelter — a human right for citizens.
With homelessness and numbers of people on Housing Trust waiting lists high in the three Liberal marginal electorates of Adelaide, Makin and Hindmarsh, opportunities exist in an election year for lobbying. The political problem is that most voters are either not aware or could not care less and the homeless are the forgotten minority in our housing debate. The homeless do not have the lobbying voice that big business does.
At least Mark Latham, who grew up in public housing, says that affordable public housing is an important issue. He is yet to release any details. And the responsibility of the state Labor government to act is also important.
[Chris White is a housing activist and researcher at Flinders University.]
From Green Left Weekly, April 21, 2004.
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