19 September 2018

JODIE HARRISON CALLS ON THE GOVERNMENT TO PROVIDE HOUSING TO HOMELESS WOMEN

Member for Charlestown, Jodie Harrison today gave a Notice of Motion calling on the Government to provide long term housing solutions to the growing number of homeless women in the Charlestown electorate.

Ms Harrisons motion noted that:


the rate of homelessness for women over 46 is dramatically increasing in the electorate due to chronic long- term gender poverty;
despite this, a miserable 0.01 percent of the private rental market is affordable to women on Newstart;
this has resulted in an increased number of women sleeping in their cars and couch-surfing leading to a strain on local not- for- profit homelessness services.


Today I called on the Government to provide adequate long-term social housing for the many struggling women in my electorate of Charlestown who desperately need a permanent home.

There are a large number of women who dont have superannuation and they dont have housing security and are trying to survive on the NewStart allowance.

These women have led conventional lives, raised families, worked part-time or in unpaid roles -running the school tuck shop or looking after elderly parents and have less savings and assets than men their age.

Many of these women are unable to maintain private rental as the high rental prices can consume practically all of their income they are left without the financial security to care for themselves.

At a time when Federal Labor has announced a policy to increase the retirement incomes of women who have had disrupted working lives, the Berejiklian Government needs to stop pouring billions of dollars into re-building new sports stadiums in Sydney and put the money where it is needed most in caring for some of the most vulnerable people in our community.