Housing Affordability on the Mornington Peninsula

The event was moderated by Ben Smith, CEO of the Mornington Community Support Centre.

Key points from the forum:

Housing affordability is an issue affecting all communities around Australia.
It is not a new problem, but one that has been growing for more than a decade.
The State Government has recently dropped the 1.75% social housing levy, which would have added 1,700 homes annually to housing stock in perpetuity.
Over 1000 people are currently experiencing homelessness on the Mornington Peninsula. 4000 are on the public housing waitlist.
There are 1437 public houses on the Mornington Peninsula, so well short of the housing stock needed.
Mornington Peninsula Shire has committed to exploring the opportunity for a community consultation group which included those experiencing homelessness and precarious housing.

What needs to happen?

Broader consultation – families, single parents and older community members have different housing needs so must be listened to when creating new developments.
Public and private investment – to ensure enough supply to keep prices affordable for many.
Further advocacy – to ensure the Mornington Peninsula gets a fair allocation of State funding for affordable housing. The current allocation is only $7.5 million out of a total $5.3 billion. The real need is closer to $100 million.
Increased funding for support services – to ensure those needing housing also get the support they need to navigate the process.
Community support – public housing is now being designed and built to the same standard as private dwellings, so the ‘not in my backyard’ mentality is an unnecessary barrier to improving amenity and providing good quality developments.

Thank you to our Event Partners for the evening

Mornington Information and Community Support Centre