A Goulburn Valley social housing provider says it has projects ready to go as soon as money starts to flow from the Federal Government’s Housing Australia Future Fund.
BeyondHousing has welcomed an agreement between the Australian Greens and the government that should see legislation creating an initial $10 billion fund pass parliament but warns against bureaucracy holding up the construction of desperately needed homes.
“I absolutely commend the government for taking a bold and significant first step federally towards ending homelessness, but I think that those of us who have experienced significant government announcements in the past would really encourage government to see that funding flowing quickly,” BeyondHousing chief executive Celia Adams said.
“What we don’t want to see is months and months of delay while we work out systems and processes, and have that delay mean that it’s even longer before bricks and mortar hit the ground.”
Ms Adams said the national homeless crisis affected Greater Shepparton, and any delay would only increase the suffering.
“The Greater Shepparton waiting list has over two-and-a-half thousand people on the Victorian housing register with more than half of those priority applicants,” she said.
“We know what the need is, we know the size of dwelling that’s needed most, we know the areas they’re needed most, we need to just get on with it.
“We’ve got a number of projects that are ready to go if funding was available, and the unfortunate reality is that we may miss some of those opportunities if we can’t move swiftly, and we’re acutely aware of the need.”
The Albanese Government claims the fund will provide an estimated $500 million annually to build social and affordable housing, including 30,000 over five years.
The Greens had wanted rental caps but had to settle for the government committing an extra $1 billion to the fund.
The government required support from the Greens to get the legislation through parliament after the Coalition opposed it, saying it relied on the fund’s investment outperforming the borrowed money’s cost.
The Coalition said housing should be funded directly from the National Housing Finance Investment Corporation.
Ms Adams said funding social housing was an investment in the community and cheaper than not providing it.
“That’s often what’s misunderstood about the role of public and social housing,” she said.
“It isn’t just a handout. People pay rent. It’s not free. People pay rent, but they pay rent that’s a rate affordable compared to their income.”
She also said the cost of providing services such as crisis accommodation, emergency services, health care and sometimes involvement with the justice system was greater than ensuring they had a house.
“People who are homeless end up costing more over time than the cost of housing them in the first place,” she said.
“The cost over time is really expensive for someone to stay homeless, so again, it makes really good economic sense to house people.”