[Greens-Media] Tas Greens_Labor Caught Out on Homelessness Spin_N McKim MP

[greens at parliament.tas.gov.au]

LABOR CAUGHT OUT ON HOMELESSNESS SPIN

Update on Target Needed Before State Election

Nick McKim MP
Greens Leader

Wednesday, 26 August 2009
Contact: State Parliamentary Offices of the Tasmanian Greens, (03) 6233
8300

www.tas.greens.org.au


The Tasmanian Greens today accused the State government of having been
caught in its own spin when it came to its much vaunted targets to
reduce homelessness, and demanded that Labor provide a progress report
before the March 2010 state election.

Greens Leader Nick McKim MP said that Labor is frantically trying to
back-peddle from public statements issued by both the former Premier
Paul Lennon and Housing Minister Lin Thorp which committed the
government to halving the number of homeless by 2010, in an attempt to
deflect criticism for shifting the target to the end of 2010.

"Mr Bartlett can crow all he likes about putting keys in locks, but the
sad fact is too many Tasmanians are having to resort to putting keys in
car doors to find shelter," Mr McKim said.

"Labor has now pushed back their commitment to halving the number of
homeless Tasmanians by 2010, as stated in public releases issued by both
the former Premier, Paul Lennon, and the current Human Services
Minister, Lin Thorp, to it now being the end of 2010, which places the
deadline conveniently after the March state election."

"There should be an earlier day of reckoning, and the Greens are calling
for the government to provide an update on how they are travelling to
meet their homelessness target, before the March election.

"Public housing is in a dire state of affairs, with the public housing
waiting list up from 2659 at the end of March 2007 to 2979 at the end of
March 2009, and the overall number of people housed by Housing Tasmania
has dropped from 850 in the first nine months of 2007 to 671 for the
same period this year." [1]

"Just as worrying is the increase in the average time it takes to house
Category 1 applicants which has risen from 15.1 weeks in 2007 to 18.2
weeks so far this year." [2]

"These figures are going in the wrong direction, and all the Bartlett
government can do is fudge the timeframes of their targets.

"Over the last two years we have seen the public housing waiting lists
grow, promised homelessness targets pushed backed, and now the Minister
has admitted that the system is broken.  This is a fail, fail, fail for
the Labor government and a fresh approach is needed desperately."

Excerpts from Government Media Releases:

Paul Lennon MP (as Premier), '"The unit will have to meet the benchmark
I set in Agenda 2008 of halving the number of people sleeping rough by
2010," Mr Lennon said.' Media Statement, Thursday 20 March 2008.

Lin Thorp MLC (Minister for Human Services), "The State Government has
committed to halving the number of people sleeping rough by 2010."
Media Statement, Monday 22 December 2008.

References:

[1] pg 13;
http://www.dhhs.tas.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/43946/DHHS_Progre
ss_Chart_May09.pdf

[2] ibid.




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