Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Yesterday, the Northern Territory Government announced one hundred and two
new homes set to be built in the Northern Territory.
They say aimed to help reduce the wait times for
social housing and overcrowding. Now we know the Federal government
is investing seventy nine million dollars under its Housing Australia
Future Fund, with the Northern Territory Government contributing land value
(00:23):
at seven point five to two million to support the
Round two roll out. Now eighty two homes as I
understand it, are going to be built in Darwin and Palmerston,
fourteen in Alice Springs and six in Tenant Creek. Now
joining us in the studio is NT Shelters CEO Annie Taylor.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Good morning to you, Good morning Katie, Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Good to have you in the studio. Now one hundred
and two new homes. It seems like a good announcement.
It is.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Look, it's positive, one hundred and two new homes. That's
going to make a difference to one hundred and two
families who are on that social housing weight list and
need somewhere to live. So it's a positive step and
it's also positive to see the Northern Territory Government working
with community housing providers to deliver that housing. So we
really commend the Northern Territory Government on their efforts there. However,
we are behind where we need to be. We've got
(01:12):
a huge housing crisis here in the Northern Territory, as
we do around Australia, but it's significant here. So we
need to do a whole lot more to deliver housing
and get it on the ground really quickly, not just
for people on the social housing waitlist, but also for
people who need affordable housing, which those are our renters.
It's a huge portion of the population.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Well this is the thing. And you know again also
one hundred and two new homes is wonderful, that's a
great announcement. But over the years we've spoken a lot
about the Housing Australia Future Fund and the volume of
homes aimed at being delivered under that fund. How many
homes do we actually need here in the Northern Territory.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Yeah, Look, it's the estimates really vary. So we've done
our own modeling internally and we think in terms of
social and affordable homes where we need upwards of about
nineteen thousand, So you know, really significant numbers and a
field if you kind of break that down and just
think about the fact that we want our population to
grow here, but then we want to be able to
house the population that we currently have. And we have
(02:16):
over five thousand people who are on the social housing
wait list currently, so that's a lot of applicants who
are sitting there for up to ten years in some
of our urban centers, who are waiting for social housing.
But again, it's not just social housing. I think it's
really important for the listeners to understand that we're also
talking here about affordable housing, and that's housing that's available
(02:39):
to people who are on low income. So that's your
people in service sectors, in hospitality, in retail, that's your baristas,
your early career tradees who are so important to the
Northern Territory economy. I mean, I don't know about you,
but I love getting my early morning coffee. I think
that's so important that we can house the population that
we have adequately, and if we don't, we're going to
(03:01):
see people leave the Northern Territory. We already hear those.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
Stories well, I mean, and then when you look at
like you spot on in terms of that affordable housing
for people, you know, that have moved here, making sure
we've got accommodation and housing available for people that are
moving here for various roles. But then even when you
look at the social housing, I mean I go on
occasionally and have a look at the wait times. Goodness me,
(03:25):
you know, they are like people are waiting years and
years to get into that social housing. It's phenomenal those
wait times for all the wrong reasons.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Really, it really is. And you know, I think it's
really important to think about the fact that that could
be really any territory. Yeah, you know, I did the
CEO sleepout that Saint Vinnie's run recently, and it was
really sobering to sit there and hear about the experiences
of people with a lived experience of homelessness in the
Northern Territory and the fact that for a lot of
(03:57):
those people, it's not just you know, it's not financial mispeage, man,
it's not a mistake that ends those people on the
social housing weight list. It could be a significant life
event that impacts them, like unfortunately a divorce or the
death of a partner that could end them on that
social housing weight list. So it's really important that we
have enough housing to accommodate all people who are on
(04:19):
that social housing weight list.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
Now talk us through you know, some of the work
that you know that we are hoping to see get
underway in the Northern Territory when it comes to housing. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Great, So we look, we've got a real opportunity here.
It's almost a once in a generation opportunity to capitalize
on that Commonwealth investment when it comes to housing and
get it to the Northern Territory where it is so, so,
so urgently needed. So these one hundred and two houses
are part of it and they will definitely help, but
we really need to ramp it up to meet the
scale of demand that we have committed to in the
(04:53):
level of need we have here in the NT. So
we've committed previously to delivering one thy two hundred houses
under the House Australia Future Fund, so that's by twenty
twenty nine, so we're getting there. We've got these one
hundred and two and that adds to round one of
the Housing Australia Future Fund. But we've still got over
a thousand houses we need to deliver in the next
four years. So while these homes will help, it doesn't
(05:16):
come close, and we still need to keep going. And
what we're calling for is an urban housing supply plan.
We think that that's what we really need here in
the NT because, like I said, we need to leverage
that Commonwealth investment. We need it here in the NT,
So we need to get it here and we need
to keep building.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
What might that supply plan look like from your perspective.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Well, we need to look at what the demand is
and what we expect our population to grow to in
the Northern Territory, and we need to look at what
is available from the Commonwealth and potentially other sources. When
it comes to how we can fund housing, you look
into state and you've got superannuation funds who are funding
social and affordable housing because it's a good turn on
investment for them. So it's about thinking creatively about how
(05:59):
we can get housing on the ground.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
Now. I know recently the Northern Territory government obviously unveiled
that five year homelessness strategy backed by two hundred and
twenty three million dollars from the Northern Territory and federal government.
What are some of the key priorities of that strategy.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
Yeah, they did so that was launched by Minister Carl
last month and it's a five year roadmap to end
homelessness in the Northern Territory. It's got a really strong
focus on prevention, which is so so important when we
look at our homeless population here in the Northern Territory.
A lot of people don't realize, but fifty percent of
that homeless population are under the age of twenty five.
(06:36):
So if we can just think about how we can
end or really significantly reduce homelessness for that population, then
we're already looking at prevention because young people are more
likely to keep re engaging with that homelessness system, so
let's prevent it before it keeps arising. It makes good
social sense, it makes good economic sense, and I think
this strategy look like I said before, it's people are
(06:59):
very close to an experience of homelessness, you know, whether
that's someone you know here in the territory, because we
have almost six percent of our population experiencing homelessness, so
it really can happen to a lot of people.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
I think we spoke about it a lot throughout COVID,
and it's sort of became very evident throughout COVID people
were going oh wow, you know, like because businesses were closing,
jobs were being lost. For a lot of people, it
became like a really real scenario that they could be
in a situation where they didn't have a home. But
over the last couple of years, I guess it's been
(07:33):
spoken about a little bit less and less, but the
reality of it is, we do have like a huge
volume of people that are sort of you know, like
working class and struggling in terms of you know, whether
they can sort of get from paycheck to paycheck.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Yeah, you're right, it's precarious for a lot of people.
And there was research out from NAB recently that showed
that about forty percent of respondents reckon that if they
lost their job that day, they're only really a month
away from homelessness, which is that's really scary to think about,
and I can understand that, But I think that's why
we need to recognize that a homelessness strategy like this
(08:12):
is important for all Territorians because we want a homelessness
system that cannot only prevent that from happening, but if
it does happen to any of us, help us get
back on our feet as quickly as possible.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
You were talking before just about young people, and you
know that forming such a huge portion of those that
are homeless under the age of twenty five g that's tough,
like when you're really trying to get on your fees
and are they CouchSurfing? Like what are these young people doing?
Speaker 2 (08:39):
Look, it really depends the majority of living in overcrowded housing.
But then you also do get, yes, a lot of
people who are CouchSurfing, and that's what makes it actually
quite hard to really estimate the true figures. So when
I say fifty percent, it's probably a little bit harder,
but it's quite hidden because if someone's CouchSurfing, we're not
always going to know about it, and the census isn't
(09:01):
always going to pick that up, so it's probably quite
a bit higher. But then you also, like you also
get people who are impacted by domestic family violence, and
of course that brings up those homelessness rates here in
the Northern Territory as well, people presenting to homelessness services
with an experience of domestic family violence. So you know,
that's where this prevention discussion really comes in. How do
(09:24):
we prevent that before it happens, and how do we
navigate people away from the service system and get them
back on their feet.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
Well, and then I guess when you look more broadly
as well at the domestic violence issues we've got in
the Northern Territory. Even if you've got a family or
a you know, a woman wanting to flee or a
man wanting to flee a domestic violence situation and really
having no options of where they can.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
Live, Yeah, there's just not sufficient options, you know, whether
we're looking here in Darwin or some of our other
urban centers. We've got some amazing services here that do
incredible work. But look, the strategy is overall positive. It's
great that it is under PEA and by a significant investment.
I think that's what, you know, we really want to
see and what we don't see with a lot of
strategies is we've got this strategy now, we've got that
(10:07):
investment so so important. So that's hitting the ground. Now,
we're going to see more tendancy support programs. We're going
to see you know, more programs along those lines that
are going to keep people out of home.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
So you feel like it's a step in the right direction,
but we've still got quite a way to go in
terms of additional homes at this point.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
Of course, because you know, how do we prevent homelessness, Well,
we need the houses to go along with it. So
what's really important is getting a strategy or a supply
plan to make sure that we can really map out
how many houses we need here in the Northern Territory
and how we're going to get them on the ground
really quickly so that we can adequately house the population
we have and the population we expect to have.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Well. NT Shelter CEO Annie Taylor, great to speak with
you this morning. Thanks so much for joining us in
the studio.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Thank you
Yesterday, the Northern Territory Government announced one hundred and two
new homes set to be built in the Northern Territory.
They say aimed to help reduce the wait times for
social housing and overcrowding. Now we know the Federal government
is investing seventy nine million dollars under its Housing Australia
Future Fund, with the Northern Territory Government contributing land value
(00:23):
at seven point five to two million to support the
Round two roll out. Now eighty two homes as I
understand it, are going to be built in Darwin and Palmerston,
fourteen in Alice Springs and six in Tenant Creek. Now
joining us in the studio is NT Shelters CEO Annie Taylor.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Good morning to you, Good morning Katie, Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Good to have you in the studio. Now one hundred
and two new homes. It seems like a good announcement.
It is.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Look, it's positive, one hundred and two new homes. That's
going to make a difference to one hundred and two
families who are on that social housing weight list and
need somewhere to live. So it's a positive step and
it's also positive to see the Northern Territory Government working
with community housing providers to deliver that housing. So we
really commend the Northern Territory Government on their efforts there. However,
we are behind where we need to be. We've got
(01:12):
a huge housing crisis here in the Northern Territory, as
we do around Australia, but it's significant here. So we
need to do a whole lot more to deliver housing
and get it on the ground really quickly, not just
for people on the social housing waitlist, but also for
people who need affordable housing, which those are our renters.
It's a huge portion of the population.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Well this is the thing. And you know again also
one hundred and two new homes is wonderful, that's a
great announcement. But over the years we've spoken a lot
about the Housing Australia Future Fund and the volume of
homes aimed at being delivered under that fund. How many
homes do we actually need here in the Northern Territory.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Yeah, Look, it's the estimates really vary. So we've done
our own modeling internally and we think in terms of
social and affordable homes where we need upwards of about
nineteen thousand, So you know, really significant numbers and a
field if you kind of break that down and just
think about the fact that we want our population to
grow here, but then we want to be able to
house the population that we currently have. And we have
(02:16):
over five thousand people who are on the social housing
wait list currently, so that's a lot of applicants who
are sitting there for up to ten years in some
of our urban centers, who are waiting for social housing.
But again, it's not just social housing. I think it's
really important for the listeners to understand that we're also
talking here about affordable housing, and that's housing that's available
(02:39):
to people who are on low income. So that's your
people in service sectors, in hospitality, in retail, that's your baristas,
your early career tradees who are so important to the
Northern Territory economy. I mean, I don't know about you,
but I love getting my early morning coffee. I think
that's so important that we can house the population that
we have adequately, and if we don't, we're going to
(03:01):
see people leave the Northern Territory. We already hear those.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
Stories well, I mean, and then when you look at
like you spot on in terms of that affordable housing
for people, you know, that have moved here, making sure
we've got accommodation and housing available for people that are
moving here for various roles. But then even when you
look at the social housing, I mean I go on
occasionally and have a look at the wait times. Goodness me,
(03:25):
you know, they are like people are waiting years and
years to get into that social housing. It's phenomenal those
wait times for all the wrong reasons.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Really, it really is. And you know, I think it's
really important to think about the fact that that could
be really any territory. Yeah, you know, I did the
CEO sleepout that Saint Vinnie's run recently, and it was
really sobering to sit there and hear about the experiences
of people with a lived experience of homelessness in the
Northern Territory and the fact that for a lot of
(03:57):
those people, it's not just you know, it's not financial mispeage, man,
it's not a mistake that ends those people on the
social housing weight list. It could be a significant life
event that impacts them, like unfortunately a divorce or the
death of a partner that could end them on that
social housing weight list. So it's really important that we
have enough housing to accommodate all people who are on
(04:19):
that social housing weight list.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
Now talk us through you know, some of the work
that you know that we are hoping to see get
underway in the Northern Territory when it comes to housing. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Great, So we look, we've got a real opportunity here.
It's almost a once in a generation opportunity to capitalize
on that Commonwealth investment when it comes to housing and
get it to the Northern Territory where it is so, so,
so urgently needed. So these one hundred and two houses
are part of it and they will definitely help, but
we really need to ramp it up to meet the
scale of demand that we have committed to in the
(04:53):
level of need we have here in the NT. So
we've committed previously to delivering one thy two hundred houses
under the House Australia Future Fund, so that's by twenty
twenty nine, so we're getting there. We've got these one
hundred and two and that adds to round one of
the Housing Australia Future Fund. But we've still got over
a thousand houses we need to deliver in the next
four years. So while these homes will help, it doesn't
(05:16):
come close, and we still need to keep going. And
what we're calling for is an urban housing supply plan.
We think that that's what we really need here in
the NT because, like I said, we need to leverage
that Commonwealth investment. We need it here in the NT,
So we need to get it here and we need
to keep building.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
What might that supply plan look like from your perspective.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Well, we need to look at what the demand is
and what we expect our population to grow to in
the Northern Territory, and we need to look at what
is available from the Commonwealth and potentially other sources. When
it comes to how we can fund housing, you look
into state and you've got superannuation funds who are funding
social and affordable housing because it's a good turn on
investment for them. So it's about thinking creatively about how
(05:59):
we can get housing on the ground.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
Now. I know recently the Northern Territory government obviously unveiled
that five year homelessness strategy backed by two hundred and
twenty three million dollars from the Northern Territory and federal government.
What are some of the key priorities of that strategy.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
Yeah, they did so that was launched by Minister Carl
last month and it's a five year roadmap to end
homelessness in the Northern Territory. It's got a really strong
focus on prevention, which is so so important when we
look at our homeless population here in the Northern Territory.
A lot of people don't realize, but fifty percent of
that homeless population are under the age of twenty five.
(06:36):
So if we can just think about how we can
end or really significantly reduce homelessness for that population, then
we're already looking at prevention because young people are more
likely to keep re engaging with that homelessness system, so
let's prevent it before it keeps arising. It makes good
social sense, it makes good economic sense, and I think
this strategy look like I said before, it's people are
(06:59):
very close to an experience of homelessness, you know, whether
that's someone you know here in the territory, because we
have almost six percent of our population experiencing homelessness, so
it really can happen to a lot of people.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
I think we spoke about it a lot throughout COVID,
and it's sort of became very evident throughout COVID people
were going oh wow, you know, like because businesses were closing,
jobs were being lost. For a lot of people, it
became like a really real scenario that they could be
in a situation where they didn't have a home. But
over the last couple of years, I guess it's been
(07:33):
spoken about a little bit less and less, but the
reality of it is, we do have like a huge
volume of people that are sort of you know, like
working class and struggling in terms of you know, whether
they can sort of get from paycheck to paycheck.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Yeah, you're right, it's precarious for a lot of people.
And there was research out from NAB recently that showed
that about forty percent of respondents reckon that if they
lost their job that day, they're only really a month
away from homelessness, which is that's really scary to think about,
and I can understand that, But I think that's why
we need to recognize that a homelessness strategy like this
(08:12):
is important for all Territorians because we want a homelessness
system that cannot only prevent that from happening, but if
it does happen to any of us, help us get
back on our feet as quickly as possible.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
You were talking before just about young people, and you
know that forming such a huge portion of those that
are homeless under the age of twenty five g that's tough,
like when you're really trying to get on your fees
and are they CouchSurfing? Like what are these young people doing?
Speaker 2 (08:39):
Look, it really depends the majority of living in overcrowded housing.
But then you also do get, yes, a lot of
people who are CouchSurfing, and that's what makes it actually
quite hard to really estimate the true figures. So when
I say fifty percent, it's probably a little bit harder,
but it's quite hidden because if someone's CouchSurfing, we're not
always going to know about it, and the census isn't
(09:01):
always going to pick that up, so it's probably quite
a bit higher. But then you also, like you also
get people who are impacted by domestic family violence, and
of course that brings up those homelessness rates here in
the Northern Territory as well, people presenting to homelessness services
with an experience of domestic family violence. So you know,
that's where this prevention discussion really comes in. How do
(09:24):
we prevent that before it happens, and how do we
navigate people away from the service system and get them
back on their feet.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
Well, and then I guess when you look more broadly
as well at the domestic violence issues we've got in
the Northern Territory. Even if you've got a family or
a you know, a woman wanting to flee or a
man wanting to flee a domestic violence situation and really
having no options of where they can.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
Live, Yeah, there's just not sufficient options, you know, whether
we're looking here in Darwin or some of our other
urban centers. We've got some amazing services here that do
incredible work. But look, the strategy is overall positive. It's
great that it is under PEA and by a significant investment.
I think that's what, you know, we really want to
see and what we don't see with a lot of
strategies is we've got this strategy now, we've got that
(10:07):
investment so so important. So that's hitting the ground. Now,
we're going to see more tendancy support programs. We're going
to see you know, more programs along those lines that
are going to keep people out of home.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
So you feel like it's a step in the right direction,
but we've still got quite a way to go in
terms of additional homes at this point.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
Of course, because you know, how do we prevent homelessness, Well,
we need the houses to go along with it. So
what's really important is getting a strategy or a supply
plan to make sure that we can really map out
how many houses we need here in the Northern Territory
and how we're going to get them on the ground
really quickly so that we can adequately house the population
we have and the population we expect to have.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Well. NT Shelter CEO Annie Taylor, great to speak with
you this morning. Thanks so much for joining us in
the studio.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Thank you
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