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Melba Group Luncheon with guest speaker Nicola Foxworthy
Melba Group Luncheon
Friday 30th September, 2022. with Nicola Foxworthy on Victoria’s Housing Crisis
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Nicola Foxworthy, left, addressing the Melba Group ladies at the September Luncheon
The speaker for the Melba Group Luncheon in September was Nicola Foxworthy, who is the Reason Party candidate for the seat of Melbourne in the upcoming state election. Nicola drew on her 20 year background in social and affordable housing delivery to provide the group with an overview of the significant housing crisis Victoria is currently facing and the Reason Party policy to address the issue. The presentation highlighted that pressure is showing right across the housing system, in social housing, private rental and home ownership. There are new cohorts showing significant growth in housing stress and/or homelessness, including older women who are currently the highest growing cohort with a 31% increase in homelessness between 2011 and 2016. The data also shows new pressures in regional housing markets. Inability to access appropriate housing at affordable prices is affecting an increasing number of households, and in an increasing number of locations. In short, our housing system is not delivering the outcomes the community needs, with disastrous impact for households, communities and the economy. The Reason Party affordable housing policy highlights that we will need major change to the way it’s delivered in Victoria, if we are to meet the housing needs of our community now and into the future. Ad hoc funding – even the large amounts the current Government has committed - won’t fix it. The Reason Party policy is to establish a sustainable, systemic approach to affordable housing delivery – one with clear social and affordable housing targets and a dedicated pipeline of investment to achieve them. The Reason Party will be pushing for development of a system that can enable urgent investment in social housing and underpin the development of build to rent and other institutional investment in affordable housing.
