Title : Call for federal intervention in Tasmanian housing crisis as latest plan fails to impress
link : Call for federal intervention in Tasmanian housing crisis as latest plan fails to impress
Call for federal intervention in Tasmanian housing crisis as latest plan fails to impress
A social welfare advocate wants the Federal Government to intervene in Tasmania's housing crisis, just days after the State Government announced its plan to house more homeless people in hotels, hostels and at caravan parks.
Key points:
- It is estimated that 1,600 Tasmanians are sleeping rough each night
- The State Government's plan to offer tourism operators incentives, and to set up demountables, has been labelled "short term"
- A social services advocate wants a joint federal and state government program to combat "the crisis"
The plan to move Tasmania's homeless into pre-fabricated units at homelessness shelters and offer incentives to hotel, hostel and caravan park owners, was announced following an emergency meeting on Friday.
Tasmanian Council of Social Services (TasCOSS) chief executive Kym Goodes said the plan was short term, and Canberra needed to contribute money now.
"It's time now for the Federal Government to step up and really also match with the State Government taking responsibility," she said.
"We shouldn't have to get to a crisis and have to go out and source this kind of accommodation.
"We should be working proactively and the governments should ensure that people's needs are being met day to day."
Ms Goodes said without support from both levels of government, poorer Tasmanians would continue to be left behind.
"The Federal Government has to realise that, and have to chip in with dollars to provide the appropriate support services, not just to community housing providers, but to the broader community service organisations that are stretched to the max," she said.
Federal Minister for Housing Michael Sukkar is due to visit Tasmania later this week.
Caravan park manager warns about longer term
Martin McConnon manages a caravan park in Hobart, where some Tasmanians who are struggling to find a place of their own have been living in tents for 18 months.
He said he was sceptical about the State Government's new housing plan.
"We've all got a bit of space because the tourists aren't here, so we do take on a bit," he said.
"But we also have to be careful that we don't run into our summer period and we then have to displace them again.
"We have to be conscious about how many spaces we can let for one particular group.
"If we want to put it out there for low-economic housing, then we won't have anything left for the tourism industry."
The State Government's proposal includes paying tourism operators more money to take on people experiencing housing stress, for months at a time.
The incentives are not new, and it is not clear how much more operators would be paid to take homeless guests under the renewed Government push.
Luke Martin from the Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania said the plan helped relieve the situation over winter, but did not address the real problem.
"We need to ultimately inject more supply into the accommodation market, whether that's for visitor accommodation, for student accommodation or indeed affordable housing for Tasmanians," he said.
"That's the fundamental policy vacuum we need to address.
"It's not the role of hotel-motel operators to play crisis accommodation providers, it's their job to provide visitor accommodation."
It is estimated 1,600 Tasmanians are sleeping rough each night.
The proposals are due to be addressed by Cabinet on Tuesday.
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