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'Nothing but tents and swags': why regional homeless kids are turned away
A regional youth homelessness service is turning young people away with swags and "flimsy tents" because they are full. It comes as the NSW state government released a 10-year homelessness strategy, the first of its kind in the state. Key reforms in the first stage of implementation include replacing hotel and motel stays with more appropriate homelessness accommodation, establishing a NSW Street Sleeping Registry, and reducing exits from government services into homelessness through new cross-agency governance. Homelessness minister Rose Jackson said the plan was a "game-changing, long-term approach" which will shift the focus from crisis management to prevention and support. YP Space MNC outreach manager Deb Tougher told ACM, the publisher of this masthead, the situation was at "crisis point". The charity has two youth refuges in Port Macquarie and offers temporary accommodation in Kempsey. All are filled to capacity. Both youth refuges help boys aged 12-24, while in the temporary accommodation at Kempsey, young mums fleeing domestic violence make up the majority of the intake. READ MORE: 'Sleeping on trains, in tents and cars': youth homelessness at crisis level Ms Tougher said most of the kids and young people were fleeing "unsafe, toxic and dysfunctional families". "A smart kid is not going to run away from a happy, safe home," she said. Ms Tougher said there was a subset of young people where one parent had partnered, and there were issues with the new partner. "We are having to give these young people tents and swags because there is nothing to give them. "It is awful, especially with this wild weather, a flimsy tent, and to say 'have a great weekend in the cyclonic weather'." She said there was zero housing on the Mid North Coast in the private rental market that was affordable on social security benefits, which she says must be increased by the federal government. Ms Tougher welcomed the move away from motels to more appropriate accommodation by the Minns government. But "what is that going to look like?" "Some of these motels used for temporary accommodation are disgusting, expensive and not safe," she said. Increasing wrap-around services and reducing exits from government services to homelessness was also important. "I'm glad they have noticed that and are trying to address it," she said. "Young people and older people who are persistently homeless have usually spent a large part of their lives in some form of institutional care," she said. "They leave these institutions with no basic life skills, such as how to make an appointment, cooking skills, things we take for granted." Ms Tougher said, particularly in holiday destinations like Port Macquarie, rough sleepers around town were moved on quickly. "Council doesn't want the tourists to think there is a homelessness problem," she said. "They need to come up with some alternative accommodation like a showground, whether it is an unused piece of crown land," she said. Homelessness NSW CEO, Dom Rowe, said the sector had been calling for a whole-of-government response to homelessness, which had worsened during the cost-of-living crisis. He said the state government's strategy "answers that call", saying his organisation was seeing more people living in their cars, couch surfing between friends' places and sleeping rough on the streets. Deputy CEO of Domestic Violence NSW Carolyn Hodge said domestic and family violence was a significant driver of homelessness. Ms Hodge said they would be advocating for a stronger focus on trauma-informed support and immediate crisis responses as the 10-year plan was implemented. "It's our goal to ensure that women and children no longer need to choose between abuse and homelessness," she said. READ MORE: 'Tireless advocate' for homeless youth dies aged 70 A regional youth homelessness service is turning young people away with swags and "flimsy tents" because they are full. It comes as the NSW state government released a 10-year homelessness strategy, the first of its kind in the state. Key reforms in the first stage of implementation include replacing hotel and motel stays with more appropriate homelessness accommodation, establishing a NSW Street Sleeping Registry, and reducing exits from government services into homelessness through new cross-agency governance. Homelessness minister Rose Jackson said the plan was a "game-changing, long-term approach" which will shift the focus from crisis management to prevention and support. YP Space MNC outreach manager Deb Tougher told ACM, the publisher of this masthead, the situation was at "crisis point". The charity has two youth refuges in Port Macquarie and offers temporary accommodation in Kempsey. All are filled to capacity. Both youth refuges help boys aged 12-24, while in the temporary accommodation at Kempsey, young mums fleeing domestic violence make up the majority of the intake. READ MORE: 'Sleeping on trains, in tents and cars': youth homelessness at crisis level Ms Tougher said most of the kids and young people were fleeing "unsafe, toxic and dysfunctional families". "A smart kid is not going to run away from a happy, safe home," she said. Ms Tougher said there was a subset of young people where one parent had partnered, and there were issues with the new partner. "We are having to give these young people tents and swags because there is nothing to give them. "It is awful, especially with this wild weather, a flimsy tent, and to say 'have a great weekend in the cyclonic weather'." She said there was zero housing on the Mid North Coast in the private rental market that was affordable on social security benefits, which she says must be increased by the federal government. Ms Tougher welcomed the move away from motels to more appropriate accommodation by the Minns government. But "what is that going to look like?" "Some of these motels used for temporary accommodation are disgusting, expensive and not safe," she said. Increasing wrap-around services and reducing exits from government services to homelessness was also important. "I'm glad they have noticed that and are trying to address it," she said. "Young people and older people who are persistently homeless have usually spent a large part of their lives in some form of institutional care," she said. "They leave these institutions with no basic life skills, such as how to make an appointment, cooking skills, things we take for granted." Ms Tougher said, particularly in holiday destinations like Port Macquarie, rough sleepers around town were moved on quickly. "Council doesn't want the tourists to think there is a homelessness problem," she said. "They need to come up with some alternative accommodation like a showground, whether it is an unused piece of crown land," she said. Homelessness NSW CEO, Dom Rowe, said the sector had been calling for a whole-of-government response to homelessness, which had worsened during the cost-of-living crisis. He said the state government's strategy "answers that call", saying his organisation was seeing more people living in their cars, couch surfing between friends' places and sleeping rough on the streets. Deputy CEO of Domestic Violence NSW Carolyn Hodge said domestic and family violence was a significant driver of homelessness. Ms Hodge said they would be advocating for a stronger focus on trauma-informed support and immediate crisis responses as the 10-year plan was implemented. "It's our goal to ensure that women and children no longer need to choose between abuse and homelessness," she said. READ MORE: 'Tireless advocate' for homeless youth dies aged 70 A regional youth homelessness service is turning young people away with swags and "flimsy tents" because they are full. It comes as the NSW state government released a 10-year homelessness strategy, the first of its kind in the state. Key reforms in the first stage of implementation include replacing hotel and motel stays with more appropriate homelessness accommodation, establishing a NSW Street Sleeping Registry, and reducing exits from government services into homelessness through new cross-agency governance. Homelessness minister Rose Jackson said the plan was a "game-changing, long-term approach" which will shift the focus from crisis management to prevention and support. YP Space MNC outreach manager Deb Tougher told ACM, the publisher of this masthead, the situation was at "crisis point". The charity has two youth refuges in Port Macquarie and offers temporary accommodation in Kempsey. All are filled to capacity. Both youth refuges help boys aged 12-24, while in the temporary accommodation at Kempsey, young mums fleeing domestic violence make up the majority of the intake. READ MORE: 'Sleeping on trains, in tents and cars': youth homelessness at crisis level Ms Tougher said most of the kids and young people were fleeing "unsafe, toxic and dysfunctional families". "A smart kid is not going to run away from a happy, safe home," she said. Ms Tougher said there was a subset of young people where one parent had partnered, and there were issues with the new partner. "We are having to give these young people tents and swags because there is nothing to give them. "It is awful, especially with this wild weather, a flimsy tent, and to say 'have a great weekend in the cyclonic weather'." She said there was zero housing on the Mid North Coast in the private rental market that was affordable on social security benefits, which she says must be increased by the federal government. Ms Tougher welcomed the move away from motels to more appropriate accommodation by the Minns government. But "what is that going to look like?" "Some of these motels used for temporary accommodation are disgusting, expensive and not safe," she said. Increasing wrap-around services and reducing exits from government services to homelessness was also important. "I'm glad they have noticed that and are trying to address it," she said. "Young people and older people who are persistently homeless have usually spent a large part of their lives in some form of institutional care," she said. "They leave these institutions with no basic life skills, such as how to make an appointment, cooking skills, things we take for granted." Ms Tougher said, particularly in holiday destinations like Port Macquarie, rough sleepers around town were moved on quickly. "Council doesn't want the tourists to think there is a homelessness problem," she said. "They need to come up with some alternative accommodation like a showground, whether it is an unused piece of crown land," she said. Homelessness NSW CEO, Dom Rowe, said the sector had been calling for a whole-of-government response to homelessness, which had worsened during the cost-of-living crisis. He said the state government's strategy "answers that call", saying his organisation was seeing more people living in their cars, couch surfing between friends' places and sleeping rough on the streets. Deputy CEO of Domestic Violence NSW Carolyn Hodge said domestic and family violence was a significant driver of homelessness. Ms Hodge said they would be advocating for a stronger focus on trauma-informed support and immediate crisis responses as the 10-year plan was implemented. "It's our goal to ensure that women and children no longer need to choose between abuse and homelessness," she said. READ MORE: 'Tireless advocate' for homeless youth dies aged 70 A regional youth homelessness service is turning young people away with swags and "flimsy tents" because they are full. It comes as the NSW state government released a 10-year homelessness strategy, the first of its kind in the state. Key reforms in the first stage of implementation include replacing hotel and motel stays with more appropriate homelessness accommodation, establishing a NSW Street Sleeping Registry, and reducing exits from government services into homelessness through new cross-agency governance. Homelessness minister Rose Jackson said the plan was a "game-changing, long-term approach" which will shift the focus from crisis management to prevention and support. YP Space MNC outreach manager Deb Tougher told ACM, the publisher of this masthead, the situation was at "crisis point". The charity has two youth refuges in Port Macquarie and offers temporary accommodation in Kempsey. All are filled to capacity. Both youth refuges help boys aged 12-24, while in the temporary accommodation at Kempsey, young mums fleeing domestic violence make up the majority of the intake. READ MORE: 'Sleeping on trains, in tents and cars': youth homelessness at crisis level Ms Tougher said most of the kids and young people were fleeing "unsafe, toxic and dysfunctional families". "A smart kid is not going to run away from a happy, safe home," she said. Ms Tougher said there was a subset of young people where one parent had partnered, and there were issues with the new partner. "We are having to give these young people tents and swags because there is nothing to give them. "It is awful, especially with this wild weather, a flimsy tent, and to say 'have a great weekend in the cyclonic weather'." She said there was zero housing on the Mid North Coast in the private rental market that was affordable on social security benefits, which she says must be increased by the federal government. Ms Tougher welcomed the move away from motels to more appropriate accommodation by the Minns government. But "what is that going to look like?" "Some of these motels used for temporary accommodation are disgusting, expensive and not safe," she said. Increasing wrap-around services and reducing exits from government services to homelessness was also important. "I'm glad they have noticed that and are trying to address it," she said. "Young people and older people who are persistently homeless have usually spent a large part of their lives in some form of institutional care," she said. "They leave these institutions with no basic life skills, such as how to make an appointment, cooking skills, things we take for granted." Ms Tougher said, particularly in holiday destinations like Port Macquarie, rough sleepers around town were moved on quickly. "Council doesn't want the tourists to think there is a homelessness problem," she said. "They need to come up with some alternative accommodation like a showground, whether it is an unused piece of crown land," she said. Homelessness NSW CEO, Dom Rowe, said the sector had been calling for a whole-of-government response to homelessness, which had worsened during the cost-of-living crisis. He said the state government's strategy "answers that call", saying his organisation was seeing more people living in their cars, couch surfing between friends' places and sleeping rough on the streets. Deputy CEO of Domestic Violence NSW Carolyn Hodge said domestic and family violence was a significant driver of homelessness. Ms Hodge said they would be advocating for a stronger focus on trauma-informed support and immediate crisis responses as the 10-year plan was implemented. "It's our goal to ensure that women and children no longer need to choose between abuse and homelessness," she said. READ MORE: 'Tireless advocate' for homeless youth dies aged 70
ABC News
31-07-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Key workers to be offered pod housing in Byron shire amid social housing builds
Teachers, police and other "key workers" looking to move into the Byron Shire will be offered accommodation in pod-style cabins originally built to house survivors of the 2022 floods. Byron Mayor Sarah Ndiaye said securing the pods at Brunswick Heads as homes for key workers and others in housing stress was "fantastic" news. "We really do need houses as soon as possible … everything just takes too long and when we have many people, as we do, that are homeless or in extreme housing stress, we need to be able to deliver as soon as possible," she said. "Main thing is … that this great resource, that a lot of money was spent on, isn't going to go to waste and that we are going to be able to utilise it. "We need to deliver some long-term affordable housing options for people." NSW Housing Minister Rose Jackson said she was keen to see other councils in the region follow Byron's lead. "We want to have a future for every single one of those pods, none of them are going to end up in landfill," she said. Tweed Shire Council had previously rejected an offer for a similar strategy at its Kingscliff pod village, but Mayor Chris Cherry said she was open to it. "I would be hopeful that our councillors may be able to think about it again and I'd certainly be happy if the state government asked about whether we would reconsider it," she said. The move was announced as the NSW government unveiled plans for a "historic pipeline of housing", which included more than 355 public and community homes to be built across the Northern Rivers by mid-2027. The Tweed Shire is set to get 133 new homes, 69 are slated for the Richmond Valley, and Lismore, Ballina and the Clarence Valley will get about 50 each. "It's actually the largest [housing] pipeline in any part of regional NSW, so we are delivering more homes in this region than we are in the rest of the state," Ms Jackson said. The government announced in February it would transform a former Tweed Heads retirement village into 70 supported temporary accommodation units under its Housing Innovation Fund. It has now purchased the site to make the arrangement permanent. Elderly couple Gloria and Lindsay Judd said they were on the verge of homelessness when they had to move out of their rental home of 30 years, until space was found for them in the temporary accommodation facility. "I was down in the dumps really bad … and I told Linds, 'I'll buy a tent and we can live in a tent on the road'," Ms Judd said. NSW Premier Chris Minns said innovative projects were crucial in a region with more than 4,100 people on the social housing waitlist, including more than 1,200 on the priority list. "We need to be in a situation where we're looking at new ideas to house people in desperate, desperate situations and desperate circumstances," he said. Theresa Mitchell, who operates nearby homelessness outreach service Agape, said 133 new social housing properties in the Tweed was "nothing" compared to the number of homeless people in the area. Ms Mitchell said one client recently entered social housing after 21 years on the waitlist. "It's not going to solve the problem, it's not even going to halve the problem, or a third," she said.
ABC News
29-07-2025
- Science
- ABC News
Largest modular social housing build in NSW opens in South Grafton
Residents have moved into the largest modular social housing development in New South Wales, which academics say could be the future of affordable housing in Australia. Twenty-four modular homes were built on the central coast and taken to South Grafton for assembly and installation, as part of the $9 million project. NSW Housing Minister Rose Jackson said the process took less than six months, which was less than half the time it took for a traditional build. "We're building homes the traditional way as well, but this particular way of delivering housing is appealing because it's so quick," Ms Jackson said. "We need homes as quickly as we can. We have thousands and thousands of people who are desperately looking for that roof over their heads." Using modular construction, also called pre-fabricated construction, a house is built in individual modules off-site from where it will ultimately be located. The South Grafton site comprises of 12 one-bedroom and 12 two-bedroom units. Ehsan Noroozinejad, who is a senior researcher at the Urban Transformation Research Centre at Western Sydney University, said governments should use modular housing more widely to address the housing crisis. "Compared to the current traditional housing, I think this is much cheaper, this is much faster," Dr Noroozinejad said. Dr Noroozinejad said many people were unaware of how high quality modular housing could be. "The basic idea is that the whole structure will be manufactured in a high-quality factory setting using robotic technology," he said. "Then they'll be transported to the construction site and assembled together like Lego." Ms Jackson said modular housing would play an increasingly large role in social housing, particularly in regional areas. "We have 90 in the pipeline for the next year, but my view is that it's only going to get larger," Ms Jackson said. "In coming years, thousands of homes will be delivered using these methods." Lee Haworth, who spent six years on a social housing waiting list, said she could not speak highly enough of the initiative that had given her a home. "I couldn't believe it when I got the keys," she said. "I had to pinch myself because I've been waiting for so long. "If I want to paint, I can paint. If I want to sing, I can sing. Despite technological evolutions such as 3D printing and robotics, Australia has a comparatively small modular construction market compared to other countries. "It's about 5 per cent overall," Dr Noroozinejad said. "For example, in Sweden, it's over 84 per cent being built with modular." He said part of that low take-up was due to community stigma, with people believing the houses were low-quality temporary structures like post-WW2 "dongas" or Nissen huts. "But everything has changed regarding the technology and the optimisation we are using to produce these modules," Dr Noroozinejad said. "Modular and prefab are much better in terms of flexibility for the architect and they're much more energy efficient." State and federal governments are trialling modular housing, with the latest federal government budget investing $54 million to support the industry. NSW, Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania have invested in pre-fabrication for social housing. So far, NSW has rolled out modular social housing in South Grafton and Wollongong, with builds in Lake Macquarie and Shellharbour expected to be delivered by the end of the year.
The Guardian
17-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Latham criticised for alleged photos of female colleagues; unemployment up; and the road to Idiocracy
Welcome, readers, to Afternoon Update. The New South Wales housing minister, Rose Jackson, has labelled the independent MP Mark Latham a 'pig' after allegations he took covert photographs of female colleagues in the upper house and shared them. The messages, reportedly sent to his former partner Nathalie Matthews and published in the Daily Telegraph on Thursday, allegedly included disparaging comments about the female politicians' appearance. In one message, the former One Nation MP allegedly made comments about the Liberal MP Eleni Petinos, saying she 'looks pregnant'. 'I pinched her bum lightly and she smiled!! Change of heart!!' The NSW premier, Chris Minns, labelled Latham's allegedly disparaging remarks 'troubling', and claimed he would be sacked in any other workplace, while Jackson said: 'Mark Latham is a pig.' Alleged sex offender Joshua Dale Brown was sacked by Melbourne childcare centre in 2021 before joining another 'Breakthrough' hailed in Melbourne synagogue arson investigation as man charged over 'crime car' Sydney Muslim cleric told to prominently display online judge's findings he was 'racist and antisemitic' Meta argues its AI needs personal information from social media posts to learn 'Australian concepts' Musk mocks 'Epstein hoax' claims after president blasts its 'stupid' believers Paranormal investigator dies on US tour with allegedly haunted doll Annabelle The political climate isn't helping, reckons cartoonist Fiona Katauskas. 'Is [crime here] getting worse, or is it the Australians coming here getting worse?' Misbehaving Aussies have long marred the Indonesian island, but an influx of expats and digital nomads has given rise to a thriving criminal underbelly. Paul Werner, owner of PaD Bar and Grill in Kuta, who has lived and raised a family in Bali over the past 10 years, says there has been a change since Covid, with a flood of money coming into the island. Sign up to Afternoon Update Our Australian afternoon update breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion The rise added pressure on the Reserve Bank to cut interest rates and surprised markets, which had been expecting unemployment to remain steady at 4.1% for the sixth consecutive month. Just 2,000 extra people found work, while the number of unemployed Australians rose by 33,600. Self-serving policy is not the worst of the OpenAI blueprint. It is the fact that this massive corporation purports to set our future agenda at all. As we race headlong into our glorious AI-powered future, a long-forgotten flick from the noughties is gaining cult status by posing a simple question: Are we on the road to Idiocracy? Today's starter word is: LINE. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply. Enjoying the Afternoon Update? Then you'll love our Morning Mail newsletter. Sign up here to start the day with a curated breakdown of the key stories you need to know, and complete your daily news roundup. And follow the latest in US politics by signing up for This Week in Trumpland.
The Guardian
17-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘Mark Latham is a pig': NSW MP criticised for allegedly taking covert photos of female colleagues in parliament
The New South Wales housing minister, Rose Jackson, has labelled independent MP Mark Latham a 'pig' after allegations he took covert photographs of female colleagues in the upper house and shared them. The messages, reportedly sent to his former partner Nathalie Matthews and published in the Daily Telegraph on Thursday, allegedly included disparaging comments about the female politicians' appearance. In one message, the former One Nation MP allegedly made comments about Liberal MP Eleni Petinos, saying she 'looks pregnant'. 'I pinched her bum lightly and she smiled!! Change of heart!!' In another, he allegedly shared a photo of Greens MP Abigail Boyd in the parliamentary chamber, saying 'this is the view I have. Serving the people of NSW. I am a loyal servant'. At a press conference on Thursday, Jackson said: 'Mark Latham is a pig'. 'This man has attacked [Australian domestic violence campaigner] Rosie Batty, telling her to grieve in private. This man is well known on the record, multiple times as a bigot – one of the biggest bigots in the state.' 'It's extremely confronting for me to think that in a workplace there's someone who thinks it's acceptable to take photos of you and to share them with derogatory comments,' Jackson said. Premier Chris Minns has labelled the allegedly disparaging remarks made by Latham about female MPs as 'troubling', and claimed he would be sacked in any other workplace, but that parliament was not a typical workplace. 'In a typical workplace, he'd be out the door tomorrow but I'm not Mark Latham's boss, I'm not responsible for him being in parliament,' he said. Minns urged the parliamentary privileges committee to investigate Latham's alleged behaviour over the photos, and said the government would take advice on whether to refer him to the privileges committee, which oversees the rules of the parliament. 'I certainly think he has broken the standing orders,' he said. 'Privileges committee should be investigating these things. They should sanction him or make a decision about sanctioning him and then make a decision about his continued future in the upper house.' Labor's leader in the NSW Legislative Council, Penny Sharpe has already lodged two motions – one with the privileges committee and another broader motion, in relation to Latham's behaviour during the last parliamentary sitting. Latham used parliamentary privilege to reveal confidential medical records relating to NSW MP Alex Greenwich, who won $140,00 in a defamation payment last year over a vile homophobic tweet Latham made about him. Latham is in the midst of a messy breakup with his partner of three years, Matthews, a businesswoman and former Liberal member in the Sutherland Shire. She is pursuing a private apprehended violence order in the NSW Local Court and has alleged a 'sustained pattern' of emotional, physical and financial abuse and pressuring her into 'degrading sexual acts'. Police declined to pursue an apprehended violence order and have not laid any charges against Latham, who has strongly denied the claims. Latham has acknowledged sexting his former partner from the chamber. 'The big news is I have a private life. I had a sex life that I've got to say was fantastic,'' he said. Latham said he was guilty of nothing more than being 'male' and 'human'.
