Dr MARJORIE O'NEILL (Coogee) (15:46:26): Housing is a human right that affords people safety and dignity. Everyone has the right to a home and it is our job as parliamentarians—each of whom represents a number of people who are homeless, sleeping rough, in rental stress or insecure housing—to make sure that everyone we represent has access to secure housing and is afforded that safety and dignity. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, "Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services". According to the Australian Human Rights Commission the right to housing is a right to an adequate standard of living, housing that is secure and safe and enables people to live with dignity.
There are three main pillars that I believe people need to have a decent start at life are health care, education and housing. Since entering Parliament last year, the single biggest consistent issue to come across my desk and through my electorate office has been housing related: 10-year waiting lists; black mould causing long‑term health issues; busted sewerage pipes that take months, if not years, to fix; and women and children seeking refuge and safety from abusive partners. Of the hundreds of complaints, concerns and serious issues that have been raised with me about public housing in the Coogee electorate, one in particular stands out. Last year, while out doorknocking, I met Brad, a single dad of four kids all under the age of 11, who is doing his best. He is doing his best to provide for his kids, make sure they receive a full education, a safe home to return to and dinner on the table.
Brad works full time to make ends meet. He is a mad Souths supporter—I will not hold that against him—and his apartment was spotless. Brad had called Housing because there was mould in his bathroom and right throughout the house. When housing eventually inspected the property the mould and moisture were so bad that they decided to remove the light from his bathroom. Five years on, the light has not been replaced. I asked Brad, "How do you wash the kids at night? How do you guys go to the bathroom?" Brad very softly said, as he is a very softly spoken man, "Oh, we just use the lights on our phones." I asked Brad why he had not complained, and he replied that he did not want to cause a fuss. Following this, I, together with my colleague the member for Keira, ran an expose on 9News Sydney about the state of housing in my electorate.
Within a week Brad and his family were moved because the mould was so bad in his apartment that the Land and Housing Corporation could not fix it. It should not take an accidental meeting with the local member of Parliament and for both that member and the shadow Minister for Housing to be on the 6.00 p.m. news for people such as Brad to be treated with dignity and respect. On any metric that reflects Housing NSW goals the Government is failing. In doing so, it is failing vulnerable people across the State and in every single electorate, including mine. On one hand we have a housing shortage with the worst economic and unemployment crisis we have seen in decades likely to double the demand for low-cost housing in the next year alone, while on the other hand those who are fortunate enough to have a roof over their heads are treated like second-rate citizens, and denied the respect and dignity that they deserve.
The best the Government has up its sleeve for job creation is to fast-track current projects in the pipeline. Here is an idea—take it, steal it, make it your own if you need to—invest in social housing. Build new stock and get local tradies in local electorates to do maintenance overhauls of all the current stock. Investing in housing is not a welfare handout., It stimulates our economy not only in the short term but also it helps to address the long‑term intergenerational social issues caused by homelessness. Investing in public housing creates an economic multiplier that is felt for generations. Investing in public housing also creates jobs immediately through building new housing while also supporting local tradies by investing in the maintenance of current stock.
We need to change the way we approach our housing policy. Building and funding affordable, community housing is not a welfare measure: It is an economic lever. It is an enormous job creator and a productivity driver. Building social housing not only will allow us to catch up to our current shortfalls, but also ensures people can live with the dignity and respect that they deserve. It also creates jobs. The Coalition has such a narrow perspective when it comes to infrastructure. We build and upgrade roads and public transport under a proviso that people can get where they need to get to more easily. We value the jobs created in the process and we recognise the productivity gains. Is not building more affordable housing that enables people to live closer to where the jobs are just as good and just as important as a road?
