Red tape to be cut for homeless. TONY Abbotts government will abolish the Prime Ministers Council on Homelessness set up by Labor and overhaul strategy to reduce administration so providers can invest more on the needy. Some homeless service providers have been informed by the government the special council will be replaced by a new advisory group that also will deliver advice more broadly on housing issues.A spokesman for Social Services Minister Kevin Andrews confirmed the Coalition was looking to make big changes to the housing strategy. The government will work hard to fix the mess left by Labors failed approach to housing, he said.With about 0.5 per cent of the population believed homeless, the councils chairman, Brotherhood of St Laurence executive director Tony Nicholson, spoke of an increasing risk for the elderly in an ageing society.Mr Andrews is expected to reveal more in Adelaide this week. One of the most crucial changes will be funding agreements that give organisations that apply for contracts more autonomy in saving money from their administration costs and spending more on homeless services. The government remains committed to working closely with the sector to achieve real results, not political fixes, a spokesman for Mr Andrews said.The government hopes that by slashing the amount of time organisations have to devote to reporting on what they are doing and applying for grants, they can make the money go further and help more at-risk people.On August 8, 2009, Kevin Rudd, with then housing minister Tanya Plibersek, announced the formation of the Prime Ministers Council on Homelessness.After seizing the prime ministership from Julia Gillard earlier this year, Mr Rudd quietly convened a meeting with the council at Kirribilli House to accelerate efforts in reducing homelessness.The Abbott governments move comes after the Gillard government pledged only a one-year extension of the federal-state funding deal to cut homelessness, which expires next July.The Gillard government offered state and territory counterparts interim funding to keep services open for another 12 months while they negotiated a long-term partnership.The number of homeless people increased by 8 per cent in the five years to 2011, compounding Labors challenge to meet its promise to halve homelessness by 2020.Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show there were 49 homeless people for every 10,000 people in 2011, up from 45 per 10,000 in 2006.The census shows that 105,237 people were homeless on August 9, 2011, representing 0.5 per cent of the population. The number of homeless rose 17 per cent across the five years from the previous census, but this rise reflects growth in the general population.Mr Nicholson recently declared changes were needed to the strategy to halve homelessness, warning that elderly Australians living in the private rental market were at risk of becoming homeless.Mr Nicholson said he would advise both sides of politics there needed to be a greater focus on preventing people falling into situations of homelessness, particularly young people coming out of care, juvenile justice and mental healthcare.But he said his biggest concern was the elderly, who were the sleeper issue in the homelessness crisis.There is a growing number of older people who are reaching retirement age with very little superannuation and living within the private rental market . . . they will be vulnerable to homelessness in their old age, he said. - See more at: theaustralian.au/national-affairs/red-tape-to-be-cut-for-homeless/story-fn59niix-1226748518282#sthash.WRRDWsQT.dpuf
Posted on: Tue, 29 Oct 2013 23:12:56 +0000
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