Tuesday, 21 June 2022

Gippsland homelessness services

Ms BATH (Eastern Victoria) (19:14): (1994) My adjournment matter this evening is for the Minister for Housing, the Honourable Mr Wynne in the other place. I would like to bring to his attention this evening correspondence I have received from Chris McNamara from the Gippsland Homelessness Network and her partners Community Housing Limited and Quantum Support Services. They wrote to me, and other MPs, I am sure, in Eastern Victoria Region, and outlined a terrible, terrible conundrum that they are in.

Lack of housing and homelessness are unfortunately prevalent right across my Eastern Victoria Region, and during COVID the government provided some additional funding for a Housing Establishment Fund and a particular COVID housing establishment fund. Now, this fund was normally for short stays—so normally over two to three nights—and over the past period of time there have been extended nights for families. What sorts of families am I speaking about? There are 20 households affected by this. There are 67 people and 41 children. At the moment those children and families have been ensconced in motel units or motel rooms for an extended period of time, but that time finishes when this funding finishes on 28 July. So next month they are going to be unfortunately turfed out on the 29th.

It is a significant issue and there is no easy answer, but it is very well put by Chris McNamara and her team. We need to investigate how this can be done, how support services can be triaged, how these families, come 10 o’clock on the 29th, can not be turfed onto the pavement with nowhere to go. This is a really critical issue, and I thank Chris and the inner Gippsland homelessness team for bringing it to my attention. She says we should look at every option possible—transitional housing, public housing, private rental—any variety. So I ask the minister if he would, as a matter of urgency, speak with Chris McNamara and the partnership that I have outlined to ensure those families, including the 41 children, are not kicked out onto the pavement with nowhere to go and if he would work with them, triage them and find a solution as an absolute matter of urgency.