ALP Victorian State Conference endorses action to fix housing for young people
On Sunday 19 May, the ALP's Victorian State Conference endorsed the following motion in support of Home Time's policy goals and strong action to end child and youth homelessness.
Thanks to the Australian Services Union and Australian Manufacturing Workers Union for initiating this action and to Marita Hagel (above) for speaking in support. The motion read:
"That State Conference resolves that Labor is committed to:
Prioritising unaccompanied children and young people aged 16-24 experiencing homelessness for support funding and housing investment through the National Housing and Homelessness Plan, HAFF and NHIF.
Developing a national pool of at least 15,000 dedicated tenancies with linked support for unaccompanied children and young people aged 16-24 experiencing homelessness.
Urgently increasing funding for homelessness support providers to give unaccompanied children and young people accessing housing the support they need for long-term safety, health and wellbeing.
Urgently addressing the rental gap for youth housing providers to remove financial disincentives around youth payments.
Investing in the frontline housing and homelessness workforce to build secure and high quality jobs in the sector, so we can build and and grow the workforce our communities need to deal with this crisis.
Working with unions, employers, training providers and the community sector to create pathways for young people experiencing homelessness into education, training and employment opportunities."