HON GIZ WATSON (North Metropolitan) [ 12.01 pm ]: I also rise to thank Hon Robyn McSweeney for moving this motion today. The Greens (WA) absolutely share the strong concern about the increasing rate of homelessness in Western Australia. It is an issue that I have raised before in this place, but it is timely to say a few words about it today, particularly in light of the focus on youth homelessness that will occur next week. There is some information on youth homelessness which is very alarming and which has enormous consequences for young people in Western Australia. I will start by talking about homelessness as an issue, which is actually about human rights, and will consider the principles that we are dealing with when we talk about homelessness. All of us in this chamber, I am sure, live in comfortable houses and have never experienced the stress of uncertainty about where we might live. I am one who has experienced that, not in Australia but when I lived in London. Indeed, I even broke into a house to find somewhere to stay. I have therefore some direct experience of the stresses that are involved —
Hon Barry House interjected.
Hon GIZ WATSON : No; actually it was all totally illegal, but I will tell Hon Barry House later how I did that.
Hon Kim Chance : It’s when your building skills came in useful!
Hon GIZ WATSON : Yes, it is called direct action.
I will refer to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission’s comments on homelessness, which are actually about human rights. I will quote from a document on homelessness dated this year, 2008. It states —
People experiencing homelessness face violations of a wide range of human rights.
Access to safe and secure housing is one of the most basic human rights. However, homelessness is not just about housing. Fundamentally, homelessness is about lack of connectedness with family, friends and the community and lack of control over one’s environment.
A person who is homeless may face violations of the right to an adequate standard of living, the right to education, the right to liberty and security of the person, the right to privacy, the right to social security, the right to freedom from discrimination, the right to vote, and many more.
It is fair to say—other commentators have made the same point—that of all the human rights issues, the right to adequate, secure housing is one human rights issue that underpins very many others. If people do not have that fundamental security, it is almost impossible to achieve the other human rights that everybody should be afforded. The document continues —
Homelessness is defined under Australian federal law as ‘inadequate access to safe and secure housing’. This exists where the only housing to which a person has access:
- is likely to damage the person’s health
- threatens the person’s safety
- marginalises the person by failing to provide access to adequate personal amenities or the normal economic and social support of a home, or
- places the person in circumstances that threaten or adversely affect the adequacy, safety, security and affordability of that housing.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics... has identified several categories of homelessness in our society. These categories define homelessness in relation to minimum community standards regarding housing. They highlight that homelessness affects people in different ways, depending on their personal situation and needs.
For some people, being homeless means being ‘roofless’ — living on the streets, in parks or in deserted buildings. This is known as primary homelessness and is the most visible kind of homelessness. For other people, being homeless means moving between various types of temporary shelters, such as the homes of friends and relatives, refuges and hostels; or living in boarding houses on a long-term basis, with shared amenities and without security of tenure. The ABS categorises this as secondary or tertiary homelessness.
The ABS also identifies a category of people who are ‘marginally housed’.
Debate interrupted, pursuant to temporary orders.