Speech by Samantha Skinner, Anti-Poverty Network SA Campaigns Coordinator, at our Homelessness Week Rally outside Premier Peter Malinauskas’ office, August 9, 2024
Welcome everyone and thank you for joining us today to mark Homelessness Week 2024.
My name is Samantha and I’m one of the Anti-Poverty Network SA’s volunteer Campaigns Co-coordinators.
We’re here today to address a crisis that has persisted for far too long—a crisis that affects a huge number of people in our communities here in SA, and across this country.
Over two years into the Malinauskas government, we have witnessed some steps towards addressing the housing and homelessness emergency. But these are baby steps and in the face of such a dire situation… BABY STEPS DON’T PASS THE PUB TEST PETER!!
We’re here at the Malinauskas electoral office because we’re at that point in the game of life called Monopoly, where it basically feels like the state and federal governments are gaslighting us, trying to make us believe they’re doing everything in their power to fix the housing crisis, when in fact people across all ages and walks of life are increasingly being made homeless.
We’re here because families with disabled children have been advised their best option is to buy a tent, or manifest a house.
We’re here because 1000’s of homes are sitting empty while families struggle without shelter.
We’re here because close to 50% of homeless people are under 24 years of age.
We’re here because people are literally dying due to the housing crisis, with homeless people more likely to die two to three decades earlier than housed people.
We’re here because even though the government knows these statistics around homelessness intimately, the government still allows unchecked rent increases that are driving people further into poverty and homelessness, and severely impacting their health and wellbeing.
Several hundred new public homes Mr Malinauskus, though absolutely welcome and a step in the right direction away from the sale of 1000’s of public houses over the past few decades, won’t even keep pace with community needs and population growth.
And next door in Victoria, their Labor government is doing even worse… demolishing 1000’s of houses…. IN A HOUSING CRISIS!
The scale of this crisis is clear. In SA we have over 15,000 people on the public housing waiting list, 3,000 of them on Category 1, and over 7,000 experiencing homelessness.
National research from the Uni of New South Wales says there’s a shortfall of 32,000 public homes across our state.
We’re here today because we’re literally fighting for people’s lives, and although we understand that the government cannot build thousands of homes overnight, there’s room for greater ambition!!
Raising taxes on those who are thriving—the banks, the property developers, and the miners—could fund the construction of thousands of new public homes.
There are also measures that can be implemented swiftly with the right willpower, such as addressing the thousands of private homes kept empty, through a vacancy tax and tackling the outrageous rent increases by instituting a two-year rent freeze followed by capping rent rises to inflation.
In June 2020 – median house price in Adelaide was just over $477,000 and in June 2024 median house prices in Adelaide metro areas is now $785,000. An increase in just 4 years of $300,000 ….
So don’t let anyone tell you that landlords must cover the cost of rising interest rates by raising rents, when they’re making a bucket load more profit on their asset also!! And don’t even get me started on capital gains tax exemptions.
The government cannot be content with being marginally better than their predecessors when so many in our community are struggling to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. In an emergency, nothing should be off the table.
Today we’re going to hear from speakers who are a mix of people with lived experience and people who have been fighting this fight, some for decades.
I want to extend a special and heartfelt thanks to our speakers today in advance. Lived experience speakers and advocates may often wonder if government’s are listening when so often the government turns a blind eye to your stories, but we see you, we hear you, and we deeply appreciate your contributions. Your lived experiences are powerful testimonies that highlight the urgent need for change.
Anti-Poverty Network SA 