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ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Bass Coast locals camping in the bush due to high rents and scarce social housing
Former nurse Veronica has lived in public housing at Wonthaggi on Victoria's Bass Coast for the past eight years. It is a picturesque part of the state, where rental properties are almost impossible to find. Veronica, whose surname has been withheld to protect her privacy, lives in public housing in the region. She said she was lucky, as more than 500 people in Bass Coast were waiting for some form of public or social housing. Veronica is not shy about telling people where she lives. It is part of her own effort to dismantle stigma around public housing and to call for improved funding for the sector. Veronica said security of tenure was a basic right that should be afforded to all people. "It really is a beautiful concept, that nobody is denied a place to live," she said. "People say to me, 'Why should we pay? Why should this be public housing? Why should we pay for these people?' "One day, you never know your circumstances … people who live in public housing are human beings, and they have a right to be accepted. "They're good people, you know." There are 388 social housing dwellings in Bass Coast, according to the Bass Coast Shire Council. According to the Victorian government, social housing is made up of public housing and community housing. A Victorian Housing Peaks Alliance report shows the Bass Coast local government area needs close to 2,500 social housing properties by 2051 to meet growing demand in the area. Data from the Victorian Housing Register shows there are 535 applications for social housing in Wonthaggi, accounting for about 10 per cent of the town's 5,000-strong population. Applications for public housing in other Gippsland areas, such as Morwell and Traralgon, are also strong. About 6.24 per cent of Traralgon's 26,907 population has their name down for some form of social or public housing. A winter shelter providing meals and accommodation on Phillip Island was due to open in early June, but was delayed until late July. Twelve one-bedroom units in Wonthaggi will provide supported mental health care when construction is complete. Founder of Housing Matters advocacy group Jessica Harrison said she had heard stories of people doubling their cooking to provide warm meals to people sleeping rough in the area, while others had resorted to camping in nearby bushland to avoid spending the majority of their pay on rent. Ms Harrison said "chronic underfunding" meant the region was unable to cope with the increasing number of people experiencing homelessness. Carol Maygar is a Wonthaggi-based volunteer spearheading the Owl Ute Pantry, a resource for people to stock up on food and basic necessities. Ms Maygar said she had noted an uptick in people coming to collect food from the pantry in recent months. "We don't ask [why], we only ask if people want a bag. You don't know what someone's situation is," she said. The number of people accessing homelessness services in Australia each month has increased by 10 per cent since May 2022. Homelessness Australia chief executive Kate Colvin said the problem just kept getting worse. "If I just look at one region, like Gippsland, we have had rents go up by 7 per cent a year for the last seven years," she said. Ms Colvin said the longer people were stuck in homelessness, the more it negatively impacted their lives. "People who are homeless have a much higher risk of early death … often suicide is the leading cause of early death for people who are rough sleeping," she said. "People just end up in despair for their future, and we see the awful consequences of that." Ms Colvin said turning the tide would require sustained investment in social housing, stronger income support, and more frontline homelessness services — especially in regional areas where support could be thinly spread. "Right now, homelessness services are turning away 72,000 people a year, just not able to provide support to them, and a further 48,000 people, we've estimated, not even getting through the door [to seek help]," she said. "What we're seeing across the country is local government responding to spikes in rough sleeping with punitive responses and moving people on. In a background statement provided to the ABC, the office of Housing Minister Harriet Shing said further funded projects would be announced in the future. A state government spokesperson said the government had invested more than $19 million in the Bass Coast to build 37 homes. Only 11 have been completed, with further projects to be announced. A Bass Coast Shire Council spokesperson said the council adopted an affordable housing strategy in 2023, and it would continue to advocate for more social and affordable housing for the region.
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
‘Severe': Blaze rips through cafe, factory at Guildford, Sydney
A blaze has ripped through a cafe and neighbouring factory in Sydney's west overnight. More than 20 firefighters were called to the scene on Byron Rd at Guildford at about 1.40am on Thursday. A NSW Fire and Rescue spokesman said the fire spread from the cafe to an adjoining building, causing 'severe damage'. The spokesman said one firefighter had been transported to hospital as a precaution because he had 'a bit of a fall' while battling the blaze. The owner of the cafe reportedly tried to bring the first fire under control before it spread to the neighbouring factory, as per Today. A woman in her 40s - believed to be the cafe owner - and the firefighter were both transported to Westmead Hospital. It has also been reported people were seen getting in the way of emergency services at the scene. NSWFR has said the fire is not being treated as suspicious.
ABC News
3 hours ago
- ABC News
Community campaigns to protect reef by extending boundaries of Victoria's smallest marine park
A dip in what's known as The Crystals, on the eastern side of one of Melbourne's most popular bay beaches, is a daily ritual for sisters Fiona Lloyd and Kate Robinson. From seagrass beds, seahorses, stingrays and juvenile marine creatures, the pair, who call themselves the "Snorkel Sisters", document their discoveries online in the hope of increasing people's awareness. The sisters are also part of a community push to protect The Crystals at Williamstown beach by campaigning to expand the boundary of the Jawbone Marine Sanctuary — just a few hundred metres away. More than 3,600 people have so far signed a petition calling for the expansion. The group is hoping for what they call a modest increase of the Jawbone's footprint to better protect The Crystals, which they believe is under-appreciated and under threat from rubbish dumping, overfishing and fishing waste including abandoned lines and hooks. "We are petitioning to extend [the sanctuary] because it's such a small area," Ms Lloyd said. "Sometimes you will see things like stingrays or banjo sharks that are stuck [in the Crystals] and sometimes they are still alive and they are just stuck on the bottom — that's pretty heartbreaking. "A lot of the animals that are found here aren't found anywhere else." Victoria has 11 marine sanctuaries, which are smaller than marine parks but have similar restrictions around fishing and rubbish dumping. Covering just 30 hectares, The Jawbone is the state's smallest. It packs in rocky basalt reef, seagrass beds, saltmarsh and the largest area of mangroves in Port Phillip Bay. Deakin University Professor of Marine Biology and Aquaculture Tim Dempster described the marine sanctuary as small but mighty, punching well above its weight. "It does a great job." Mr Dempster agrees The Crystals would have similar biodiversity values to that of Jawbone, but acknowledged while the group may have an argument in expanding its boundaries, there was tension around its shared use. "There is probably a little bit of conflict there over the use of that area; there are others who like to use [the Crystals] for spear fishing and abalone collecting," he said. "They may have a case just on the fact that it's a very heavy use area … and based on community values that it is a special area." "It's not as complicated as creating a whole new marine park, so it's in the bounds of possibility, but there would be quite a bit of community consultation that would have to happen." He also said the larger a marine park, the better it is at protecting what's inside. Local swimmers who regularly use The Crystals are worried about safety and interactions with some fishers. Jason Bryce has been swimming in the area for 15 years, and instigated the petition. "We're concerned about spearfishing in particular and some of the less responsible line fishing," he said. A state government spokesperson and the Victorian Fisheries Authority (VFA) did not respond to questions about whether the expansion would be considered. But VFA said it encouraged all fishers to do the right thing and dispose of line and gear responsibly, no matter where people were. While Mr Dempster believes there are hurdles in getting the concept over the line, he would like to see government consider a review of how all Victoria's marine parks and sanctuaries are faring. With Australia now a signatory to a global target to reach 30 per cent protection of marine areas by 2030, he said it was particularly important with Victoria lagging behind. "We are roughly at about 12 per cent in terms protecting coastal space and that's a lot lower than many other places in Australia and globally," he said. "[And] It was almost a quarter of a century ago since we last looked at the marine park situation in Victoria.
