The Tasmanian Parliament will hold a wide-ranging inquiry into the Hodgman Government's housing and homelessness crisis after a successful motion by Labor.
Shadow Housing Minister Alison Standen said the inquiry will move forward after the motion was formally passed through the House of Assembly this afternoon.
Ms Standen said the inquiry would focus on key issues that have led to an unprecedented point of crisis in housing availability and homelessness in Tasmania, including:
- Experiences of Tasmanians in housing stress or homelessness
- Management of social housing and delivery of new stock by Housing Tasmania and community housing providers
- Impact of a lack of affordable housing on the broader economic and social wellbeing of the Tasmanian community
- Impact of a lack of affordable housing on the implementation and outcomes of other State Government programs
- Effectiveness and limitations of current State and Federal Government strategies and services to alleviate the impact of poor housing affordability in the Tasmanian community
- Impact of historic housing debt on the management and delivery of social housing
- Strategies to address the $73 million maintenance liability of Housing Tasmania and community housing providers
- Impact of population growth on housing supply
- Relationship between housing, health and education and
- Successful strategies in other jurisdictions that could be effective in improving affordability in Tasmania
"Tasmania needs a thorough and comprehensive inquiry to not only understand the how things have gone so terribly wrong under Premier Hodman and Housing Minister Roger Jaensch but to find tangible solutions moving forward," Ms Standen said.
"The Hodgman Government's so-called 'housing summit' was little more than a four hour talkfest and Tasmanians have a right to understand how this government has failed so comprehensively.
"We now need to find tangible ways forward to provide shelter for the thousands of Tasmanians who are struggling to pay the rent, who cannot access public housing and who are either facing or in the midst of homelessness.
"It's unacceptable that that on any given night 1,600 Tasmanians are homeless and many, many other families are couch surfing, relying on their friends and families or living in sheds or cars.
"The Hodgman Government has failed to adequately plan, accurately forecast, resource and urgently act upon the range of issues impacting on housing supply."
