Hobsons Bay council and the Labor Party have called on the state government to provide more public housing.
The government’s new framework for public housing allocates $1.3 billion over five years for upgrades but no money for new housing. Last week, the office of Housing Minister Wendy Lovell said that as at December, there were 1077 people on the public housing waiting list at the Footscray office, covering Altona, Altona Meadows, Altona North, Brooklyn, Footscray, Laverton, Newport, Seddon, Spotswood, Williamstown and Yarraville.
Ms Lovell said the government’s new strategy would include better management of waiting lists, a probationary period for new tenants and a strengthened three-strikes policy for antisocial tenants. Responding to the strategy, Hobsons Bay mayor Sandra Wilson said the council’s research showed the number of affordable rental properties in the municipality was decreasing.
“In June, 2013, there were only 43 rental properties – or 6.8 per cent of total rentals – that were affordable for low-income households,” she said. “This compares to the 208 rental properties that were affordable a decade ago. More low-income residents are turning to public housing. While the Department of Human Services provides around 1200 properties in Hobsons Bay, the waiting lists are long.”
Western Metropolitan Labor MP Cesar Melhem last week in Parliament called on the minister to increase capital funding for new social housing in this year’s state budget.
