Latest news with #TasCOSS
ABC News
03-07-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Community service providers react to Tasmanian election promises tackling cost-of-living pressures
Bills are going up and wages are sluggish. Money just won't stretch as far as it used to and it's leaving many Tasmanians going without. The growing cost-of-living issue in Tasmania has been described by some as a crisis. Now it's a staple of Tasmania's snap election, with both major parties jostling to prove they are the right ones to ease living costs in the state. But there is no magic wand to fix a situation that has been steadily growing worse for years. According to the Tasmanian Council of Social Service (TasCOSS), 120,000 Tasmanians are living below the poverty line, meaning they don't have the resources to meet basic needs. One in five — or 50,000 — Tasmanians are experiencing energy poverty, meaning they can't pay their electricity bills so they ration energy use, go into debt or make cuts to other essentials. And more than 5,000 people are on the social housing waitlist. The ABC spoke to several community service organisations about what they wanted to see parties doing to address cost-of-living issues this election. As the manager of Goodwood Community Centre, a Neighbourhood House in Hobart, Natham Reynolds is at the coalface. "Our numbers coming through the door are really huge at the moment," Mr Reynolds said. "Each week we have more than 1,000 people. "We've just had a Christmas in July lunch where we had 70 people here." Mr Reynolds has been the manager for more than two years. He says the demand for services increases week on week. He also said the work is difficult and challenging but worth it. "It really takes a bit of a toll on you," he said. "You like to leave your work at home, but you're always thinking when you go home, 'Is there any more I can do or where else can we help?' "You find you're always trying to think of new ideas or different support systems to help people, even once you finish work." Simone Zell is the chief executive of Neighbourhood Houses Tasmania. She said there needed to be a fundamental shift in how we address cost of living. "So that we have priorities that are about supporting people to have access to the basics," Ms Zell said. Ms Zell said access to earlier intervention when it comes to healthcare was crucial. "We need to make sure that people can have access to healthcare where they are so they are not in those more crisis situations and they are not presenting at hospitals," she said. The Salvation Army's Amelia Natoli said the issue for many in the community sector was ensuring adequate funding for existing programs. "For many of our programs we're on the same level of funding that we might have got five or 10 years ago, and everyone's aware that the cost of doing anything has gone up," Ms Natoli said. "For us, we're actually not able to deliver the same level of service for the same price as we could five or 10 years ago. She said without increased funding the organisation could not "keep the lights on" at its family and domestic violence refuge or at its alcohol and other drugs space. "But until we can actually just keep the current services running at the level that they need, it's really hard for us as an organisation to ask, 'Can we have further funding to be able to add another six beds at our family violence refuge?' Because we just don't know that we'll be able to staff it and keep everything running," Ms Natoli said. Loaves and Fishes chief executive Andrew Hillier said one-in-five Tasmanians were facing food insecurity, and innovative solutions were needed. He said he wanted to see the parties embrace a food-systems approach, bringing together different organisations to deal with issues. "Organisations like Eat Well Tas that are focused on education, Neighbourhood Houses that distribute food and … farmers who grow and in some cases their food gets rejected." Mr Hillier said the Liberal government held a roundtable before the election was called, but it needed to go beyond facilitating discussions — he said the ideas needed resources. "[We want to make] sure we've got markets and ways of buying food, creating alternative markets for local, small and medium farmers and producers, so that food can be available at lower cost." He also said it was essential to support the grassroots community organisations on the frontline delivering support. Labor has been coming out hard on cost of living, offering everything from a price cap on electricity prices (they won't be able to rise more than 2.5 per cent) to freezing car registrations for a year, which will save the average person $15 a year. Apprentices would be eligible for half-price registrations. The party also has a policy to allow people to pay all government-issued bills monthly at no extra charge compared to annual payment, including car registrations. It would invest in Loaves and Fishes' food strategy, providing it with $5 million over five years. The Liberals have an energy-saver policy in place: the renewable energy dividend. Most recently it resulted in $60 shaved off Tasmanian power bills. The Liberals' big cost-of-living promise this campaign is TasInsure, a Tasmanian-owned insurance company the party claims would result in Tasmanians saving up to $250 a year on insurance bills, while businesses would save up to 20 per cent. The party has also announced half-price bus fares would be extended for another year. The Greens have a whole raft of policies designed to address cost-of-living pressures, including putting a stop to "unreasonable" rent rises and introducing means-based fines. Community sector leaders are generally positive about the policies announced during the campaign so far, but the feeling is most pledges do not go far enough. Ms Zell said some of the policies could be better targeted at vulnerable Tasmanians. The Salvation Army's Amelia Natoli said even a $15 discount for those who are struggling would provide relief. "I do think the impact it would have if it is particularly focused on those individuals that we work with could certainly be quite high," she said. "We really need to look at how we keep our most vulnerable front of mind." Ms Zell said in the end, many of the policies were just "tinkering around the edges". "I really hope that in these last two weeks [of the election campaign] that we actually see some brave vision around 'let's actually do things differently'," she said. "We do have so many Tasmanians right now really struggling and we're looking at how we can shift that situation so that we can see people's lives being changed." To see more of the parties' promises to address cost of living and more, go to the ABC's election promise tracker.
ABC News
06-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Social housing wait list grows despite Tasmanian government's build pledge
When Rhyan Davey's 10-year relationship ended at the beginning of the pandemic, he had no stable accommodation to fall back on. "I was on a Centrelink budget at the time. I had nothing to my name," he said. " So, I applied for housing and from there on, there's nothing supportive, there's no communication — it's just a wait for two years. " For those two years, Mr Davey and his two children lived out of a motel room while he waited for social housing. Mr Davey says the wait for housing was tough, with "nothing supportive" and "no communication" from agencies. ( ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke ) Without a home to provide security or stability, he — with support from the children's mum — was left to face the challenge's of raising his family day-by-day. "That hyper vigilance is really stressful and takes a lot of energy away from trying to move forward," he said. Now in a steady home, Mr Davey has become an advocate for secure housing. He wants a more robust support system for people left on housing waitlists to provide advice and assist with planning. "People don't know. On a wait list, there was nothing," he said. Tasmania's social housing waitlist is the longest it's ever been, and the second longest wait-time for a jurisdiction after the Northern Territory. According to Homes Tasmania data, there are currently over 5,000 applicants, with an average wait of 82 weeks. Between 2020 and 2024, the wait time increased 33 per cent. TasCOSS, the peak body for community services in Tasmania, has launched a "This is a story of Tasmania," TasCOSS chief executive Adrienne Picone said. "This is our fellow Tasmanians who aren't able to afford a safe and comfortable home, a secure home, and put a roof over their heads." The online dashboard tracks wait times, and presents the progress being made. ( ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke ) Housing goals challenged The increase in social housing wait times comes despite the Tasmanian government's goal of providing 10,000 new social and affordable homes by 2032. Photo shows An aerial shot of two wooden house frames. Piles of red bricks are scattered around. Homes Tasmania planning documents show how the agency plans to meet a target of 10,000 new homes by 2032, with the largest proportion to be made up of helping households into "affordable home ownership" through the MyHome program. The target was originally announced in 2022 by then-premier Peter Gutwein. Just under one third of the 10,000 total homes will be social homes and supported accommodation, with 119 crisis accommodation spots. And to meet that goal, more than 1,000 parcels of vacant land By the end of last year, over 3,000 homes had been completed, with funding locked in for another 809. Adrienne Picone says Tasmania needs to double the number of social homes" being built to address the crisis effectively. ( ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke ) Ms Picone said the state government's housing strategy was "a great aspiration", but a growing social housing waitlist suggested it was not working. "How can we be 40 per cent towards our target, and yet the wait list continues to grow," she said. "We probably need to double the number of social homes that we're trying to build and decrease our reliance on affordable rentals and home purchases." Photo shows Mountain and houses Homes Tasmania was established in 2022 to deliver housing, and homelessness and crisis accommodation. Just two years later, an interstate auditor will conduct a review to determine if the new entity is meeting its targets. Despite her grievances, Ms Picone has not hitched what she deems an unsuccessful strategy solely to the Tasmanian government. She said te state's well-documented housing crisis can only be solved through collaboration at every level of government with community services and housing providers. Tasmania's Minister for Housing, Planning, and Consumer Affairs, Felix Ellis, said the government was taking "strong action to deliver supply across the housing spectrum" and was "working tirelessly" to address the needs of those waiting for a house. "Our government is full steam ahead on delivering on our ambitious commitment of 10,000 social and affordable homes by 2032, with more than 40 per cent delivered ahead of schedule," Mr Ellis said. 'Hidden side of homelessness' Ewan Higgs says on "any given night, we might be turning away 10 or 15 people". ( ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke ) As a housing service program manager at Hobart City Mission, Ewan Higgs has seen the demand grow first-hand. Each night, the charity and community service provider accommodates 35 people in an old church. Mr Higgs said he believed it was "a drop in the ocean". "We're full every night," he said. "On any given night, we might be turning away 10 or 15 people. We are seeing upwards of 180 people accessing our services." Temporary sleeping arrangements at Hobart City Mission's Safe Night Space in Hobart. ( ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke ) As a crisis and emergency accommodation service provider with limited beds, Mr Higgs said it was common for people in need of a bed to continue camping or couch surfing while they waited. And some of the people requiring assistance will use the service for years. "It's the reality where we are working with that really pointy end of homelessness," Mr Higgs said. " We're working with people who are sleeping rough, the people who are really struggling with mental health, drug and alcohol addiction. " Ewan Higgs says the services are "full every night". ( ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke ) More and more, those on the "hidden side of homelessness" — such as people on disability support or aged care pensions who can no longer afford rent — were seeking help through the charity, he said. Like Ms Picone, Mr Higgs said a response to address the growing crisis required collaboration across all levels of society. "It shouldn't just be on one or the other — we need to collaborate and bring the community and government and the not-for-profits together," he said.
