Kevin Rudd’s well-publicised commitment to end Australia’s problem with homelessness is being thwarted by his NSW Labor colleagues, according to Sydney homeless legal services.
The housing crisis is putting the squeeze on Rudd’s ‘working families’ with a lack of affordable accommodation and rising interest rates making it increasingly difficult to secure a decent home.
But less well-publicised is how the housing crisis is affecting the homeless.
Homeless people are having their applications for priority housing rejected by the NSW Department of Housing after being told they can afford private rental.
The government’s reasoning is that the CentreLink welfare rate of around $260 a week, is enough for somebody to afford rent of up to $170 a week.
Those seeking government housing are provided with a printout from a real estate website with rental accommodation within that range.
The system is doing nothing to reduce homelessness and is in fact adding to the number of people on the streets, according to Homeless Persons’ Legal Service Officer, Chris Hartley.
He says homeless people, especially those suffering from mental illness, find it near impossible to secure rental accommodation in Sydney's cut-throat market where 'rent auctioning' - although illegal - is still common. But even if accommodation is somehow secured, it’s unreasonable to expect an individual to cover their living expenses in the city with just $90 a week, according to Mr Hartley.
"It is incredibly demeaning to provide long-term homeless people with printouts of properties that they should be able to afford," he told LIVENEWS.com.au.
"As one formerly homeless person mentioned to me, applying for housing in NSW is like trying to climb a wall without a ladder."
Kevin Rudd has ordered a White Paper report to be completed by experts on homelessness, which is due in August.
"We want a complete analysis and a complete policy response across all levels of government because we want this to work in the future," he said in January.
"(This) will involve extensive consultation across the entire homelessness sector, all those factors which are influencing homelessness and what we must do about it."
Video report: Yasmin Bright