MEDIA RELEASE: Everybody’s Home welcomes Labor’s remote housing promise

02/05/2019

National housing campaign Everybody’s home has welcomed Labor’s election announcement that it will provide $1.5 billion over 10 years to address overcrowding and housing shortages for residents living in remote communities.

Everybody’s Home campaign spokesperson Kate Colvin said access to a safe, secure home is critical determinant for health, education, employment and well-being that every Australian has a right to, wherever they live.

“Safe, secure housing is an basic human right,” Ms Colvin said.

“Labor is promising to invest in housing over 10 years, which is twice the existing agreements between the Commonwealth and the states, and has pledged to develop a new COAG agreement on remote housing. We’re calling on the Coalition to make a similar commitment.

“Whichever party wins Government, if we are going to end overcrowding and provide safe and healthy homes for local communities in remote areas we need a real, lasting long term commitment that goes beyond politics and is supported by all sides of Parliament.”

Everybody’s Home is urging all political parties, to support a National Strategy that will deliver 300,000 social and Aboriginal housing properties over the next 20 years.

Ms Colvin also urged all parties to support a broader Aboriginal housing strategy to address housing and homelessness for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, including people in regional towns and capital cities

She said Aboriginal people were way over represented when it comes homelessness in Australia.

While 3 per cent of Australians are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, 1 in 5 or 20 per cent of all people who were homeless on the 2016 census night were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.

“Safe and healthy housing is an absolutely fundamental need that has flow-on effects to just about every aspect of our lives, from economic security, to safety in the family to mental health and well being.

“It needs to be a priority and we need to get it right so that everybody in Australia has a home,” Ms Colvin said.