Cassy O'Connor MP | Greens Leader and Housing spokesperson
Tasmania’s public housing waiting list has now more than doubled since the Liberals took government, government data released today confirms.
When the Liberals took office in 2014, they inherited from a Greens Minister the shortest housing waiting list in a decade – 2,183 applicants. The waiting list has now ballooned to 4,468 applicants.
These are just the Tasmanians who’ve registered for housing support. There are tens of thousands more in real housing stress in an unaffordable, dog-eat-dog private rental market.
The Liberals have tried to use every trick in the book to pretend they bear no responsibility for the housing crisis in Tasmania, but the raw data doesn’t lie. They have overseen a devastating increase in the number of Tasmanians waiting in hardship for a safe and affordable place to call home.
This government has repeatedly ignored the demands of the community sector – who see the consequences of housing insecurity and homelessness up close – and the urgency of the housing crisis. It’s shameful.
Rather than focusing on delivering the social housing Tasmania needs, the Liberals have focused on pork barreling and policies designed to line the pockets of their corporate mates. They just don’t care enough about struggling Tasmanians, a truth more evident than usual this week particularly, after the passage of the lethal gambling legislation through the lower house.
If Premier Peter Gutwein was serious about the housing crisis, he’d show some real leadership and commit to building 10,000 new homes in the next ten years, put strong limits on short stay accomodation, and act to protect tenants from unreasonable rent increases and evictions.