First Nations Telegraph

Aboriginal Party calls for urgent action on housing crisis

[supplied by Marnie Davis]

Russell Logan, Managing Director, Coodjingburra HOME Limited and Marnie Davis, Candidate, Indigenous Aboriginal Party of Australia. Image: supplied

The Indigenous - Aboriginal Party of Australia (IAPA) is calling for immediate government intervention relating to Australia’s escalating housing crisis. The IAPA seeks immediate intervention to protect vulnerable families, particularly First Nations peoples, single parent families, and our elders from homelessness and housing insecurity.

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Australia is grappling with a housing emergency exacerbated by over a decade of government neglect of construction and case management supports within the social housing sector. While the current Commonwealth Labor Government has this week committed to building 1.2 million homes between 2024 and 2029, many Australians are struggling now, with long waitlists for social housing and skyrocketing rent prices due to interest rate hikes from the Reserve Bank.

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The current rate of homelessness in Australia is a national crisis. We have tent cities forming in parks, empty houses now becoming shelter for squatters and even tents on roundabouts near the Gold Coast airport. We have rough sleepers both adults and children, at risk of violent perpetrators in unstable and unsafe conditions. The great Australian dream of home ownership is currently no longer achievable for Australian middle to low-income earners with the sale of houses to foreign investors taking advantage of a high return competitive rental market. High land prices for Australians wanting to build a home has had a huge impact on the construction industry. Companies have been forced into closure thus impacting employment. Forty years ago 60% of Australians purchasing a home were low to middle income earners while statistics from 2022 show a huge decline to only 28% of Australians within the low to middle income bracket owning their own home. The increase in the Reserve Bank interest rates has a domino effect causing excessive amounts of rent to be charged, resulting in overcrowding, financial hardship then often evictions and homelessness.

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Uncle Owen Whyman, Convenor of the IAPA, said “Across New South Wales we are facing lack of support for our men when they are the primary carers of children or are seeking independent living to enable stability of housing so they can take on joint co-parenting roles for their children after separation. There is also an excessive amount of overcrowding in family houses. The shame men face being homeless or dependent on others for housing security leads to a decline in mental health and substance use. We need holistic wrap around supports to ensure long term outcomes for our families”.

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Social housing properties and government developments are being sold off, depriving communities of much needed affordable housing options. The former Commonwealth Games athlete’s village, right beside the Gold Coast University Hospital and services in Southport, is another example of a government property that could have been a great asset but was sold for private residency. Housing priority lists are overwhelmed, with an average wait time of 10 to 15 years for our vulnerable homeless – time many vulnerable Australians simply cannot afford to wait. Homelessness is on the rise at a rapid rate with families and individuals facing eviction as living costs outpace incomes. Domestic violence statistics are worsening alarmingly and victims are being forced to remain living in violence or return to the perpetrator because there is no housing alternative.

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Uncle Russell Logan, Managing Director of Coodjingburra HOME (an Aboriginal housing provider in Tweed Heads, NSW) highlights to IAPA Candidate, Marnie Davis, the specific challenges faced by First Nations peoples. In Tweed Heads, 80 new apartments are set for construction in 2025, yet there are concerns that these homes are being allocated to priority applicants from outside the local community. As a result, First Nations families are being displaced from their land and communities, worsening social isolation and creating disengagement from critical health and community services.

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“Recent cluster funding for an Aboriginal Domestic Violence refuge in Tweed Heads has been granted to mainstream organisations who don’t have the capacity nor the expertise and are already struggling providing a very minimal, delayed response to the homeless in the region. Evidence obtained supports statistics around disengagement by Aboriginal clients from these mainstream housing providers. We need social housing for First Nations communities to be managed by First Nations organisations to ensure holistic culturally appropriate support and long-term engagement; not short-term band aid measures,” said Uncle Russell Logan.

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Safe housing is a fundamental human right and we call on the government to ensure housing equity and prioritisation for vulnerable groups, particularly First Nations people. We need a focus on community led solutions; listen to those most affected by the crisis and understand one solution doesn’t suit all in regional and remote towns especially. The government has the opportunity to make lasting changes to address the housing crisis. The time to act is now, before more families are forced into homelessness.