JOINT STATEMENT FROM National Shelter, Community Housing Federation of Australia and Homelessness Australia Wednesday 24 December 2014 Housing and homelessness peak bodies out in the cold at Christmas: and a very poor new year to follow for anyone struggling to house themselves It’s not going to be a good Christmas for housing and homelessness peak bodies including the Community Housing Federation of Australia (CHFA), Homelessness Australia and Na- tional Shelter. All three of these peak bodies received news at the beginning of this Christmas week that they would not be funded beyond 30 June 2015. But this news is a blow beyond undermining Christmas festivities for the people directly in- volved in these organisations. These organisations provided a voice in Canberra for the challenges faced in securing af- fordable housing and keeping a roof over the heads of our most vulnerable citizens. Without strong national peak bodies, government decision makers will be free to ignore housing and homelessness, leaving one of the biggest welfare issues: whether families can get and keep a home, out in the cold. Alarmingly, with a federation green paper underway that will look specifically at housing and homelessness issues, there may be no peak bodies at the national level with the research and policy expertise in these areas. It’s a sad day for civil society when governments move to silence anyone who may offer an opinion that differs from theirs. Peaks play an essential role as a voice for vulnerable people and in taking a broad view of the housing and homelessness system to promote fairness, effectiveness and efficiency. Governments are impoverished without the evidence based policy knowledge of peaks and their capacity to provide advice and a voice from the community - this is an attack on civil society, and the long term costs will be worn by our most vulnerable citizens. Community Housing Federation of Australia The Community Housing Federation of Australia (CHFA), the national industry body repre- senting not-for-profit housing providers.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 01:36:36 +0000