Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / NT Shelter CEO Peter McMillan says an increasing number of Territorians are facing housing challenges

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NT Shelter CEO Peter McMillan says an increasing number of Territorians are facing housing challenges · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: We know that homelessness is being put in the spotlight
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: this week and it is aiming to raise awareness of
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: the contributing factors and the funds that are needed to
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: support those in need of support. And joining me in
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  Speaker 1: the studio to tell us a little bit more about
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: Homelessness Week and how things are going in the territory
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  Speaker 1: at the moment is the CEO of NT Shelter, Peter McMillan.
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  Speaker 1: Good morning to you, Peter, Good morning Katie, how are
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: you any really well? Thanks so much for joining us now.
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: Firstly, tell us a little.
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  Speaker 1: Bit more about what Homelessness Week is all about.
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  Speaker 2: Well, National Homelesses This week has been going for quite
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  Speaker 2: some years now and it's really to create awareness of
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  Speaker 2: the problem, the significant problem and the growing problem that
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  Speaker 2: Australia faces with homelessness. It's interesting because Australia is one
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  Speaker 2: of the more prosperous countries in the world and in
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  Speaker 2: terms of the OECD countries, we're actually the country only
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  Speaker 2: behind New Zealand to have the highest rates of homelessness
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  Speaker 2: despite being a very prosperous country, and here in a
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  Speaker 2: northern territory we have ten times the rate of Australia's homelessness,
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  Speaker 2: which is very significant. So homeless this Week serves a
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  Speaker 2: number of purposes. It really creates awareness that we've got
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  Speaker 2: an issue that we need to talk about as a
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  Speaker 2: nation and we need to take action on. And this
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  Speaker 2: year's theme is to win homelessness. We need a plan
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  Speaker 2: and never could a true word have been said about that.
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  Speaker 2: But I think the other thing about homeless this Week
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  Speaker 2: too is to remember to stop and think about the
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  Speaker 2: people who end up into homelessness. A lot of us
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  Speaker 2: all have preconceived ideas around what causes homelessness. We all
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  Speaker 2: probably have memories from when we were little of seeing
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  Speaker 2: people who are homeless and come to conclusions and sometimes
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  Speaker 2: I guess people have a tendency to think well people
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  Speaker 2: through our own poor decisions or actions have ended up
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  Speaker 2: in the homelessness. But it's a lot more complicated than that,
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  Speaker 2: and this is a week to stop and acknowledge the
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  Speaker 2: huge numbers and the increasing numbers of people who are
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  Speaker 2: entering into homelessness or who are riskly becoming homeless through
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  Speaker 2: a whole lot of circumstances in life where people need
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  Speaker 2: a little bit of help to get their lives back
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  Speaker 2: on track and above all, they need access to housing
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  Speaker 2: that they can afford well.
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  Speaker 1: And this is the thing at the moment you did
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  Speaker 1: just touch on it, that cost of living. We speak
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  Speaker 1: about it so regularly on this show. How much of
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  Speaker 1: a role is that rising cost of playing on homelessness
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  Speaker 1: in the territory At the moment, it.
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  Speaker 2: Look it's having a very significant impact. We're seeing a
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  Speaker 2: lot of extra people presentding for services who need financial
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  Speaker 2: assistance with simply when we have our member organizations and
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  Speaker 2: a lot to give a shout out to the great
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  Speaker 2: work that they do as part of homeless this week
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  Speaker 2: as well. They have a very tough set of circumstances
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  Speaker 2: and they do an absolutely amazing job. But when they
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  Speaker 2: have emergency relief funds to provide, whether it be for
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: meal vouchers or for other forms of financial assistance, that
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  Speaker 2: money goes out the door very quickly. There's never enough
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  Speaker 2: of it to go around. And we are hearing that
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  Speaker 2: it's no real surprise is that with inflation going up,
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  Speaker 2: with the costs of energy bills and fuel and food,
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  Speaker 2: and the list goes on, and housing costs as well
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  Speaker 2: are going up because simply in a lot of regional
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  Speaker 2: locations especially across Australia, and I think we've got it
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  Speaker 2: pretty tough here. Rents have gone up a lot, and
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  Speaker 2: that's mainly because we just don't have enough properties to rent,
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  Speaker 2: and an increasing number of territory families just simply can't
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  Speaker 2: find anywhere that they can rent, let alone whether they
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  Speaker 2: can afford. And we know that people like nurses and
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  Speaker 2: other key workers are having to make very tough decisions
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  Speaker 2: about whether they can stay in the territory. And presumably
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  Speaker 2: for families who want to come and make their life
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  Speaker 2: and the comeback capital, it's not going to come back
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  Speaker 2: capital if there's nowhere to live that they can afford.
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  Speaker 2: So we've got some really big challenges in homelessness, and
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  Speaker 2: I think this week is really an opportunity to say,
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  Speaker 2: are we doing enough on homelessness and what else can
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  Speaker 2: and should we do to not only meet the needs
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  Speaker 2: of people who don't have a house to live in,
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  Speaker 2: but also to make sure that we have enough housing
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  Speaker 2: to meet our future needs.
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  Speaker 1: Well, this is it, and I know that nationally Saint
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  Speaker 1: Vincent de Paul Society had said that it had been
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  Speaker 1: quite disturbing or there'd been quite a disturbing increase in
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  Speaker 1: the fact as contributing to homelessness, with most never expecting
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  Speaker 1: to face circumstances leading them to lose or leave their homes.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, Peter, is it a trend that we are
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  Speaker 1: seeing here in the Northern Territory as well.
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  Speaker 2: I think almost every day now, Katie, you can read
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  Speaker 2: in the newspapers or see online in the news a
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  Speaker 2: story from across Australia. There's almost one every day of
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  Speaker 2: the family that says, I could never believe that I
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  Speaker 2: would happen to me, This could happen to me. And
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  Speaker 2: it sadly if you don't have you know, if you
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  Speaker 2: don't own your own home, and you're at the and
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  Speaker 2: you're in a rental market, and as I've said a
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  Speaker 2: number of times on this program, half of your listeners
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  Speaker 2: will be renting out there half of Territorian's rent And
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  Speaker 2: if they're at the mercy of an increase in one
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  Speaker 2: hundred dollars a week or one hundred and fifty dollars
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  Speaker 2: a week, because that's how the market works at the moment,
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  Speaker 2: then of course something's got to give and either the
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  Speaker 2: kids don't get the education or the sport, or start
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  Speaker 2: skimming back on meals or other cost, health costs. Something's
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  Speaker 2: going to give. And we now have over three hundred
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  Speaker 2: occupations on a skilled occupation list in the territory. And
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  Speaker 2: when you must have a lot of employees say to
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  Speaker 2: UK do you know, we just can't get the jobs.
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  Speaker 2: We can't get the workers to come to the Northern
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  Speaker 2: Territory to fill the jobs that we need to grow
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  Speaker 2: our businesses and grow the economy. What really, I think
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  Speaker 2: is absolutely perplexing to me is that over the last
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  Speaker 2: eighteen months we've been having a review of residential tendancy's wars.
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  Speaker 2: So these are the laws that make it fair and
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  Speaker 2: reasonable for renters and landlords alike. And we've said time
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  Speaker 2: and time again that we need a system that's fair
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  Speaker 2: for landlords and tenants. And with that process having been
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  Speaker 2: wound up and not even having an opportunity to talk
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  Speaker 2: about reasonable rent increases and protect rental protections and minimum
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  Speaker 2: standards for renters. I mean, in the thirty five years
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  Speaker 2: I've been working, I can't think of anything that's been
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  Speaker 2: more stupid to cut our nose off and spite our
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  Speaker 2: face when we need workers and we've got renders doing
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  Speaker 2: it tough, and renders out there will be thinking well,
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  Speaker 2: what's the government doing to maybe have my back, So.
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  Speaker 1: Peter, is that a review that was happening here in
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  Speaker 1: the Northern Territory, that eighteen month review. So now it's been,
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  Speaker 1: it's done.
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  Speaker 2: It was with basically with two weeks. Now it was
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  Speaker 2: packup stumps. We've done. We've got to move on. There
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  Speaker 2: are issues that weren't covered. We've said for the last
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  Speaker 2: eight months. We believe we want to get the Working
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  Speaker 2: Group back together to finish the work that it was
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  Speaker 2: set out to do, which is to provide the Minister
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  Speaker 2: with a comprehensive, comprehensive report for rental reforms which look
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  Speaker 2: at things that have happened across Australia. So we have
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  Speaker 2: an Act that's modern and not lagging the chain. And
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  Speaker 2: it doesn't mean that we get everything that we want, Katie,
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  Speaker 2: but we at least think we should have a conversation
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  Speaker 2: about this Tasmania sorry like Victoria and Tasmania or sorry,
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  Speaker 2: the Act have got things in place like you can
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  Speaker 2: put rents up each year, sure, but let's make it
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  Speaker 2: CPI plus ten percent but not forty percent or thirty percent.
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  Speaker 2: And look, landlord's out there will be saying, well, that's
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  Speaker 2: just interfering in a free market. I get that, you know,
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  Speaker 2: I'm a land more too, But I mean you've got
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  Speaker 2: to think what are we trying to achieve and if
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  Speaker 2: you've got good families with skills leaving the territory because
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  Speaker 2: they can't afford one hundred and fifty bucks a week
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  Speaker 2: conversation and not even be able to have that conversation
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  Speaker 2: with government around rental reform. I mean, we're trying to
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  Speaker 2: get that change. With mister Paik. You know, he's a
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  Speaker 2: pretty in our experience, it's been a good fella and
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  Speaker 2: willing to listen to arguments about this, but previously it's
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  Speaker 2: just been a complete stone wall and I just think
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  Speaker 2: it's absolute nonsense, cutting as off to spite our face
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  Speaker 2: when people are hurting out there.
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  Speaker 1: But I mean, if you could give us sort of
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  Speaker 1: one take home message today on Homelessness Week.
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  Speaker 2: What is it We new need a plan. We need
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  Speaker 2: to look at what it's going to take to end homelessness,
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  Speaker 2: which is a commitment to building more social and affordable housing.
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  Speaker 2: Our population grown across Australia by twenty five percent over
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  Speaker 2: the last fifteen years, but our social and affordable housing
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  Speaker 2: stocks are down by two and a half percent, so
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  Speaker 2: we clearly we need more housing and encouragingly, the federal
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  Speaker 2: government is saying that they're going to build thirty thousand
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  Speaker 2: more homes over the next five years across Australia. Certainly
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  Speaker 2: we need our share of those. In the Northern Territory.
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  Speaker 2: We're getting some housing built in the remote original community,
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  Speaker 2: which is absolutely essential. That continues, but we need to
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  Speaker 2: do a lot more and government needs to be more ambitious,
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  Speaker 2: we believe, as to ramping up the number of housing
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  Speaker 2: builds over the coming years. Finally, for Northern Territory, we
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  Speaker 2: receive at the moment twenty million dollars only, so less
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  Speaker 2: than one dollar per person across Australia that goes into
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  Speaker 2: our homeless system, despite having twelve times the rate of homelessness.
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  Speaker 2: It's one of those historic mistakes that's been made. We
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  Speaker 2: get absolute pittance and that's something that can be addressed
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  Speaker 2: in the next National Housing and Homelessess Agreement, with Third
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  Speaker 2: Minister Warden saying that funding for domestic family violence services
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  Speaker 2: should be based on need, not based on our population,
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  Speaker 2: and that's exactly the argument that applies to homelesses as well,
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  Speaker 2: that we get a fair share, Katie Well.
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  Speaker 1: Peter McMillan from NT Shelter, the CEO of NT Shelter,
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  Speaker 1: we always appreciate your time. I think it's always important
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  Speaker 1: for people to understand, you know, how Territorians are at
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  Speaker 1: the moment struggling in a lot of ways, particularly when
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  Speaker 1: it comes to having a home. And as you've said,
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  Speaker 1: you know we want to be the comeback capital. We've
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  Speaker 1: got to make sure people have got places to live.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks Katie. And if people are out there that are
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  Speaker 2: experiencing homelessess or know someone who's at risk of experienced homelessness,
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  Speaker 2: then check out our homelessess website www dot shelter, me
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  Speaker 2: dot org dot au. Where's is an online directory of
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  Speaker 2: services for help that's available.
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  Speaker 1: Good on you, Peter, Thank you so much for you
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: chat this morning.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you