ROUNDTABLE AIMS TO SOLVE AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROBLEM

11 November 2018

Member for Whitlam Stephen Jones will meet with key stakeholders for an Affordable Housing Roundtablein Warilla today.

It comes after it was revealed Wollongong City Council is sitting on $9.2 million dollars provided by the former Federal Labor Government in 2013.

While this money remains unspent, hundreds of locals remain without a roof over their head, with older women highly represented in homelessness statistics.

Supported Accommodation & Homelessness Services Shoalhaven (SAHSSI) Illawarras 2017 Annual Report revealed 893 people presented as homeless or without a tenancy.

Among those, 108 (12%) were women over 50.

In the 2016 Census 15,010 women were homeless in NSW, up from 11,125 in 2011.

The unspent money provided to WCC was part of $13.9 million from the Building Better Regional Cities Program, and was to be set aside to help low-and-moderate income earners to buy a home in West Dapto.

Five years on, and there has been no action from Council who say the funds are sitting and gathering interest.

This comes as locals in the Illawarra struggle to find affordable property.

According to the Property Council Annual Report the Illawarra is seeing an increase in demand for affordable housing and a decrease in affordability.

Mr Jones will meet with groups including Southern Youth and Family Services, SAHSSI and Wollongong Emergency Housing to discuss the issues around affordable housing and possible solutions.