HOUSING CRISIS GRIPS GIPPSLAND

A review by One Gippsland has revealed a critical accommodation shortage gripping the region.

Data analysed by One Gippsland has identified an almost 50% (48.43%) decrease in available affordable rentals in Gippsland over the past 12 months.  Affordable rentals decreased from 1053 to 543 - a decrease of 510 over from the June 2020 quarter to the June 2021 quarter.

In addition, the number of households seeking social housing assistance has grown to almost 3400 (3,399) households, with demand outstripping supply across the region.

Chair of One Gippsland Cr Brett Tessari said “We have a vision to build an inclusive, dynamic Gippsland that is a great place for people to live and work.  The current lack of housing across the affordable and social sectors is proving a real barrier to positive regional growth.”

“We would like to acknowledge the support committed by government under the Big Housing Build, and the priority given to the Gippsland region,” he said

“As our analysis shows, there is a continuing deficit of housing across the region and these shortages will require significant government investment” Cr Tessari said.

“For example, in Bairnsdale the rental demand increased 300 per cent from January 2019 to January 2020.”

The ongoing impacts of the destruction caused by bushfires and floods, consistently high levels of homelessness and domestic violence in Gippsland that are well above the state average, are a significant contributor to the social housing challenge in the region.

This has been exacerbated by COVID-19 which has seen an influx of people moving to regional Australia with a 200% increase in net growth to regional areas according to Infrastructure Australia figures.

“One Gippsland will be supporting the advocacy of all our shires in relation to meeting the need for both affordable and social housing across our region through the competitive processes associated with Big Housing Build funding pipeline” Cr Tessari said.