A recent report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) tracks the number of social housing dwellings built over the last decade. It paints a dismal picture. During Labor’s last tenure in office (2007-2013) there was some growth in the number of social housing dwellings. In 2008 there were 378,554 social housing dwellings.
When Labor left office in 2013, there were 408,676 social housing dwellings; an increase of just over 30,000. This came after social housing was dramatically neglected during the Howard era (1996 to 2007), declining from 6.1 per cent of the housing stock in 1995-96 to 4.7 per cent in 2005-06.
In 2020, there were 416,190 social housing dwellings. Thus, in this seven year period of the Coalition being in government federally, the number of social housing dwellings increased by a negligible 7515 dwellings or 1100 dwellings annually.
Isn’t it time the federal government stepped up on social housing and its implications | Spinifex | The Fifth Estate
