The St Vincent de Paul Society New South Wales says last night’s state Budget takes a positive step towards addressing the housing crisis that will make a substantive difference to the lives of thousands of people living at the margins.
“In a joint report with the McKell Institute, the Society called for a multibillion-dollar investment in social housing ahead of the state Budget, so we commend the action taken by the NSW Government today given the scale of the crisis confronting people across the state,” St Vincent de Paul Society NSW chief executive officer said Yolanda Saiz said.
“There are currently more than 57,000 applicants waiting for social housing in NSW, so this investment in the State Budget will be able to give people the safety of a place to call home and also strengthen our housing system overall.”
Ms Saiz said the Minns Government’s announcement of $5.1 billion to deliver 8,400 new or redeveloped public homes over the next four years is the largest investment in social housing in NSW history.
“We have not seen an investment in housing, of this scale, since the aftermath of the Second World War,” Ms Saiz said.
As part of the 8,400 social homes, 6,200 will be new and 2,200 redeveloped homes; 50 per cent of the new homes built will be prioritised for victim-survivors of domestic and family violence, while an additional 500 new rental homes will be constructed for key workers.
An additional $1 billion has been allocated for maintenance repairs on 33,500 social homes.
The $527.6 million investment in Specialist Homelessness Services, including $260 million for crisis accommodation and $250 million to support people at risk of homelessness, will place the Society in a better position to respond to increasing need.
The Society’s homelessness and housing services have supported more than 7,000 people this financial year.
“We welcome this budget as a positive step towards addressing hardship and disadvantage and look forward to working alongside the NSW Government,” Ms Saiz said.
FULL STORY
Housing system strengthened through State Budget investment (St Vincent de Paul Society NSW)
