The housing minister, Julie Collins, says Australia’s rate of homelessness is “unacceptable”, as she promises a greater leadership role from the federal government in the sector.
Australia today marks the beginning of Homelessness Week, with social agencies calling on governments nationwide to do more to address housing and rental affordability, as well as the underlying factors contributing to homelessness.
Our reforms aim to ensure every Australian has access to safe and affordable housing to improve social and economic outcomes for all Australians, including those at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness,” she said on Monday.
According to the 2016 Census, in Australia there are over 116,000 people experiencing homelessness, and this figure is unacceptable.”
We all need to be heading in the same direction.
We need to be ambitious ... we all need to be working together to solve the housing affordability issues we have.
What’s happened is the states and territories have been doing their own thing and I don’t think there’s been enough national leadership.
In its gas inquiry 2017-2025 interim report released on Monday, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said the east coast gas market is facing a gas shortfall of 56 petajoules in 2023.
This gap is about 10% of annual domestic demand, ‘signifying a substantial risk to Australia’s energy security’, the report says.
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