Tasmania’s peak body for affordable housing and homelessness, Shelter Tas, has called on the State Government to use some of its windfall of $590 million in GST revenue to invest in affordable housing.
“Tasmania’s GST windfall is a real opportunity to increase the supply of affordable housing as an important part of Government investment in infrastructure development”, Shelter Tas Executive Officer, Pattie Chugg said.
Tasmania has an urgent need for more affordable housing. According to 2011 Census data, 14,618 Tasmanians were in housing stress. The wait list for public housing at 31 December 2014 was up 43.5% over the previous year. Research has identified a positive relationship between housing and workforce participation and an injection of capital dollars will help the Tasmanian economy grow.
The National Rental Affordability Scheme was highly successful in Tasmania, and will deliver over 1600 affordable properties, with many of those built by the community housing sector. “Community housing providers have a strong track record of building affordable homes and stronger sustainable communities. Jobs, affordable housing and community building are a triple win for Tasmania.”
“Injecting capital funds up front to enable the community housing sector to build more affordable housing will provide both jobs and much needed accommodation for Tasmanians” Ms Chugg said.
Housing is a critical piece of Tasmania’s economic infrastructure. Investment in affordable housing means investment in Tasmania’s future.
For more information, go to the Shelter Tas website, where you can view Shelter’s Budget submission 2015-16:
Pattie Chugg (Executive Officer) Shelter Tas
