Anglicare Tasmania wants to see Housing Tasmania relieved of its debt to the Commonwealth so it can provide new affordable housing to low-income people and upgrade existing stock.
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The organisation issued the demand, which it estimated would cost the federal government $16 million a year, in their state budget submission for the upcoming financial year.
The Health and Human Services Department says that Tasmania needs about 2392 new dwellings to be built each year to meet long-term supply demands up until 2031.
About 27 per cent of these houses need to be low-priced homes.
The public housing waiting list in Tasmania was 2771 in June 2015 – up 24 per cent on the year before.
Anglicare has also asked that the government adequately fund all recommendations in the Affordable Housing Strategy 2015-2025.
Its budget submission largely deals with accessible transport, gambling, mental health, and out-of-home care issues.
Anglicare has called for the state government to lift its level of transport funding from under $200 per capita annually to $300 to allow for more timetable options, family concessions, and improved services to regional areas.
This demand for $150 million to be spent on public transport would also include an extension to the state government’s temporary taxi subsidy for those receiving funding under the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
The organisation has asked that the Education Department and Health and Human Services Department collaborate more with carers of children placed in out-of-home care and allow them to participate more in decision-making processes.
It wants Children and Youth Services to internally audit what was spent on education-related needs, outline the nature of those need, and identify expenditure shortfalls.
As for gambling reform, Anglicare wants all poker machines to be phased out of hotels and clubs from June 2023 which is estimated to hit government gambling revenue by up to $23 million a year.
And in the area of mental health, the organisation wants the state government to ensure data be developed on people with severe or persistent mental illness who may be eligible and ineligible for NDIS funding from 2019.
The state budget will be released in May this year.