By XAVIER SMERDON
WHILE the number of people waiting for public housing in Victoria has increased by just under two per cent, the Sunshine Office of Housing has seen its own numbers increase by more than five per cent.
New figures released by the Minister for Housing, Wendy Lovell, show that at the end of the December quarter, 3903 people were listed at the Sunshine office as waiting for housing.
This was an increase of 191 people, or 5.1 per cent, over the last quarter.
Member for Tarneit Tim Pallas said real change was needed to reduce waiting lists.
“These are not just statistics, but real people joining over 37,000 other vulnerable Victorians already languishing on the public housing waiting list,” Mr Pallas said.
“These statistics highlight the dire need to invest in new public housing stock across Victoria. I have raised this matter in Parliament and with the Minister directly on numerous occasions to no avail.
“Ms Lovell has tried to blame the increase in the waiting list on the Federal Government’s changes to the single parent allowance, despite these changes being implemented after the reporting period.”
A spokesperson for the Victorian Public Tenants Association said that the group was disappointed by the increase in waiting list figures.
“Overall it is clear that more needs to be done to effectively reduce the public housing wait list in the long term, particularly in the area of new developments and more effective management of the system,” the spokesperson said.
Ms Lovell however shifted the blame on to the Federal Government.
“In recent months we have seen pressure on vulnerable families, especially single parents in private rental, due to the Commonwealth’s cuts to their income support,” Ms Lovell said.
“It is possible part of the increase in the waiting list is due to these single parents reassessing their situation and applying for public housing.”
