Affordable Housing: Breaking the Poverty Cycle
ANGLICARE Sydney, with Australians for Affordable Housing and the Australian Council of Social Services calls on all Australian Governments to increase housing affordability.
With the launch today of the Australians for Affordable Housing campaign in NSW, ANGLICARE Sydney is calling for coordinated affordable housing policies to help break the poverty cycle.
“Housing is the biggest cost of living issue in Australia”, said Grant Millard, CEO ANGLICARE Sydney.
“Affordable housing is the best starting point for people to work through complex issues of disadvantage – it gives them stability to build a future.
“Housing stress is affecting families in Sydney like never before. Private renters and mortgage holders are coming to us in crisis due to the cost of living and with spiralling debt. Just putting food on the table is a huge challenge”, said Mr Millard.
In April this year ANGLICARE Sydney’s Rental Affordability Snapshot found only 1.3 per cent of private rentals across Sydney and the Illawarra were affordable for low income families.
ANGLICARE Sydney’s 2011 State of Sydney Report, Home Truths also found housing insecurity is particularly affecting women.
“Most of the people who need Emergency Relief are women, and most of these women spend over 45 per cent of their income on private rent. This is completely unsustainable.
“The national Supported Accommodation Assistance Program also tells us that women make up two thirds of those who seek help from homelessness services around Australia”, said Mr Millard.
ANGLICARE Sydney and Australians for Affordable Housing are calling for:
· coordinated national policy reform to increase affordable housing,
· removal of tax concessions that encourage property speculation,
· increased supply of new, additional public and social housing dwellings, and
· Rental Assistance to be indexed with cost of living pressures.
