Mr Pallas (Tarneit) — I rise to highlight the inaction of the  government in relation  to   the   shortage   of   public  housing,  and  particularly  crisis accommodation, in the city of Wyndham. The H3 (Health, Housing and Homelessness) Wyndham  Alliance,  a formal partnership of  local  organisations  committed  to addressing local  housing  and homelessness  issues,  submitted a report  to the Minister for Housing in May last year regarding the need for $5 million to build crisis accommodation for families and single adults in  the Wyndham area. I note that  Minister  Lovell stated at  the Werribee community cabinet  event that the government does not have the money to invest in crisis accommodation in the city of Wyndham because the government’s members:

  …  do  have limited resources. We  have  to make sure we  help those most in  need.

Minister Lovell states that the government  will  ‘help those most in need’, but the Napthine government continues to ignore those most  in  need  in  Wyndham — including the 90 families that are evicted from their homes each month.

I  note  further that the incidence of domestic violence has continued to  rise, from 366  reported  cases in 1999 to 1026 in  2010.  A lot of important work has been done towards preventing domestic violence, but  there  is  still a real and pressing need to invest more in resources such as crisis accommodation to ensure that   victims   of  domestic  violence  can  be   provided   with   alternative accommodation.

I will continue to work with important community groups such  as the  H3 Wyndham Alliance to advocate for  vulnerable people across Wyndham.  I ask the  Napthine government to show compassion and commit further funding.