<
https://theconversation.com/why-local-councils-are-the-missing-link-in-australias-efforts-to-end-homelessness-205216>
"Homelessness in Australia is getting worse. It’s no longer just city centres
where people are forced to sleep rough, live in their cars or rely on temporary
shelter. The most recent census shows outer suburbs and regional areas are
feeling housing pressures like never before.
More often than not, communities in these areas just don’t know what to do.
Increasingly, residents are asking small, stretched local councils to go beyond
their traditional responsibilities of rates, roads and rubbish and do more to
tackle homelessness.
Yet local government lacks the mandate or the money to do so. Often, the only
tool at local councils’ disposal is enforcement of local laws on behaviour in
public places.
And when councils do get involved in the problem of homelessness, it’s often
too late. They are reacting when homelessness has reached crisis point, instead
of working to prevent it.
Now, with the federal government developing Australia’s first National Housing
and Homelessness Plan, there is growing recognition that state and federal
governments must give their local counterparts a seat at the table. My new
report on what local government can do to end homelessness suggests councils —
more than 500 of them across the country — could be the missing link in efforts
to solve the homelessness crisis.
As the closest level of government to the people, councils have a unique
perspective on homelessness that other levels of government are just too far
away to see. Executed properly, this national plan could be the biggest
opportunity we have ever seen to not only address homelessness, but also for
local councils to help prevent the problem at its roots."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
