Housing Minister Michael Ferguson's lofty promises to finally address Tasmania's housing and homelessness crisis have been yet again exposed as a cruel hoax with the release of new ABS data today.
Shadow Housing Minister Ella Haddad said the latest data shows that just four public sector houses were approved to be built in August - an extraordinary sign that the Liberal Government is falling far short of its own targets.
"That's a pitiful result for Mr Ferguson and it sends an appalling signal to the more than 4,300 Tasmanians families stuck on the housing wait list that this government does not consider building new homes a priority," Ms Haddad said.
"Just last month at the beginning of Homelessness Week, Michael Ferguson told those families they could be assured the government is taking serious action.
"He told them the government was making 'record investment' into social and affordable housing.
"He told them 3,500 families would have a new home by 2027.
"Perhaps Mr Ferguson can now tell those families - honestly, genuinely and without the spin - how he will reach that target with such an extraordinary lack of progress in even getting approvals to build.
"The fact is just last week Tasmanians learned the sad truth that the public housing waitlist has blown out to 4,367 families.
"The fact is the average wait time now to get a house has grown to almost 59 weeks - or more than a year - and at the same time the number of requests turned away from emergency accommodation at shelters rose from more than 15,200 in 2019-20 to more than 18,400 in 2020-21.
"As Shadow Housing Minister, I spent the start of this week in Launceston meeting with frontline staff in the housing and homelessness sector who, while providing amazing services, are deeply frustrated by the lack of housing supply and the failure of the government to act quickly.
"The fact is the housing crisis goes from terrible to catastrophic under the former failed Health Minister Mr Ferguson who places a very, very low priority on families who are in real and often desperate need of help."
Ella Haddad MP
Shadow Housing Minister
