JEREMY LEE, HOST: Accessible, affordable housing is a big issue for many people in Australia, particularly young people experiencing homelessness and women fleeing domestic violence. The Federal Government announced on Friday it'll fund the construction of 237 new homes to be built across the State to house women and young people in crisis. 39 of these new homes we understand are going to be built in Warrnambool and the South West. There’s also one home in the Grampians. Josh Burns is the Member for Macnamara and a Special Envoy for Social Housing and Homelessness and is joining me this morning. Josh Burns, welcome to you.
JOSH BURNS, MEMBER FOR MACNAMARA: Thank you so much for having me, Jeremy.
LEE: So, the announcement on Friday was for 237 homes across the state. Are these all new homes, or are some of them replacing existing homes?
BURNS: Well, they are a combination of new builds, and also there are some homes that we're going to be sort of renovating and making sure they're purpose built for the sorts of accommodation that we want to turn them into. So, for example, if you've got a young person who is experiencing or facing homelessness, the sorts of homes that they might need if they're under 18, they might need to have supervision areas or communal areas, those sorts of things. And we just want to make sure that the homes are of a good standard. But most of the homes, as part of the package, will also be brand new homes that will be purpose built for these sorts of things.
But I want to really stress, Jeremy, that what this is all about is that we don't want anyone to have to face that wicked choice between facing violence in their own home or facing homelessness and all of the other stresses and problems that that comes with. And at the moment, we know that too many people, when they do experience violence at home, that that's just a reality, and that there's not enough places for people to go to. So this is really about trying to increase the number of homes where people can have access to crisis accommodation or transitional accommodation, which is up to two years, to allow them to get back on their feet. If you're a young person, to break that cycle of homelessness and to be able to potentially go to school or TAFE or university, and obviously for women and children to be able to make sure that they're safe and that they can access the support they need in probably the most difficult moment of their lives.
LEE: Why have you, or have you gone about identifying where you're going to do this as well? And when we talk about Warrnambool in particular and in the South West, those 39 homes, what sort of has led to that figure for this area?
BURNS: Well, we wanted to make sure that it wasn't just projects in the city. That's the first thing. We've really made sure that we are spreading these investments right across the State to make sure that people wherever they live have access to services that they might need, and so you know when we're setting out the instructions for Housing Australia, who ultimately are the ones who make these decisions at arm's length from government. We make sure that they are considering where the projects are, the balance between regional, rural and metro, to make sure that we can get homes where people are. And we know that some of the challenges for people to access services are the greatest in regional parts of this country. So we're really proud that we are going to be building these homes for the local communities in Warrnambool and around South West Victoria. We wish they weren't needed. But at the same time, we know that when we are making these investments, communities like the amazing one down in the South West need to make sure they get their fair share too.
LEE: And once again, we drill a bit further into those 39. Do we know how many of those are new? How many are sort of refurbishments or redesigns of existing facilities?
BURNS: Yeah, so the majority of them will be new builds. I'm not going to go into the specifics because as you can appreciate, with some of the sensitivities around having refuges for people who are experiencing family violence, the sorts of locations, the sorts of the types of housing, you know, we just don't give any of those public details out to ensure that we protect the people who are accessing those homes, but they are a combination over 10 different projects. They're done in partnership with the Victorian Government, community housing providers and First Nations organisations, and they'll be a combination of predominantly homes for people fleeing a violent home, and then also some for young people who are otherwise going to experience homelessness.
LEE: So, as you said before, these are used for people who are in those sorts of crisis situations, I suppose. And you mentioned what up to two years? So they’re obviously not permanent, not meant to be designed to be permanent homes, I suppose. But homes that people can use for a pretty considerable amount of time, by the sounds of things?
BURNS: Yeah, I mean, it really depends on what people need. And from my experience, when dealing with a lot of the specialist homelessness services, who do such an amazing job supporting people, it's very rare that people can completely rebuild their life after a couple of days or a couple of weeks. We know that the time it takes for someone to get back on their feet, to get all of the support that they might need. If you're leaving a violent home and you're taking your kids, then you need things like legal support, mental health support, health support, access to government services. You might need to, for the very first time in your life, get access to some sort of support payments, access to long-term housing, and speaking to a specialist homelessness service like the Salvos that do a lot of work in the South West Coast.
These sorts of things require a lot of intervention, and it often can be, you know, a period of months. Now, some people are able to then go on and go back into market housing, and then we know that a lot of people also still require housing after that period. So we really are focused on building more and more homes right across the country. So I think that after working alongside the incredible people who are dedicated to trying to help people in those moments, what we need is more homes. We need more homes and more options for people, so that they're not turned away from refuges, or so that they know that there are options available, so they don't have to consider staying inside a violent home. So that's what these projects are all designed to do. And I wish that we didn't have to make these investments, but the fact that they are being done will mean that more people won't have to stay inside a violent home or face homelessness, which is a really important thing.
LEE: Yeah, how much of a dent do you think this will make in the demand for this kind of housing as well?
BURNS: Well, over time, given they are shorter term housing, lots and lots more people will be using them. We estimate over the next 20 years around 10,000 Australians will get access to these crisis and transitional homes on top of the ones that are already existing in our homelessness sector. So that's 10,000 people who would otherwise just be stuck in this cycle of homelessness. 10,000 people who would otherwise have all of the other strains on themselves, their family, and also on government health services that arise if you don't have access to a safe and secure home.
But it's not about saving government money. On the contrary, this is about helping people rebuild their lives and helping people get through the most difficult parts of their lives, and it's really important that those services aren't just in Melbourne and Sydney and across the major cities. This is really important in the incredible communities like where you're broadcasting from this morning. I love coming down to visit the South West coast and seeing Warrnambool, but I also know that there are real challenges around access to housing and certainly in these sorts of types of housing, it's going to be used very quickly, and the demand will be there.
LEE: Yeah, indeed. Josh Burns, we'll leave it there. Look, thank you very much for your time this morning.
BURNS: Thanks for having me on, Jeremy.
LEE: Thanks again, Josh Burns there. He is the member for Macnamara, Special envoy for social housing and homelessness, and yes, 39 new homes slated for our area for Warrnambool and to the South West, and also one home for the Grampians to assist with some of that crisis housing.