A mother of five who was separated from her children after being evicted from transitional housing into homelessness was just one of the personal stories heard in parliament today as Labor challenges the government to do more to fix Tasmania's social housing crisis.
Labor opposition leader Rebecca White said more than 3900 families are on the social housing wait list, which has risen 65 per cent in six years, with urgent cases waiting more than 15 months for a home.
She raised the story of a homeless mother of two Crystal Kenzi who has been on the waitlist for three years, sleeps in a tent and has been unable to find a spot in the state's Safe Sleep Space.
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The story of father of four Jack White who has waited four years for a house in any of his 43 nominated suburbs.
Also, the story of a 12-year-old boy with a disability, who is crawling around his current house due to its unfriendly wheelchair access, whose family has been waiting seven years for more suitable housing for him.
Ms White accused Premier Peter Gutwein of showing "a callous disregard for families struggling to keep a roof over their head".
"Premier, Crystal, like many, many other Tasmanians has found herself in this vulnerable situation through sheer desperation, because your government has just not built the properties.
"When will you actually provide an adequate number of properties for the increasing number of desperate families? And when will your government stop evicting people into homeless?"
Premier Peter Gutwein, who would not be drawn to comment on individual cases, said houses were being built at a rate that had never been seen before.
"There has been a net gain of almost 350 social houses over the last two years ... 200 low income Tasmanian households have also been assisted to purchase a home, with a further 246 building brand new homes through Homeshare," he said.
Housing minister Roger Jaensch said the government had invested $300 million for housing and homelessness initiatives, and to increase housing supply.
"In relation to all the cases raised by the Opposition in State Parliament today, Housing Connect is working with the individuals and will continue to offer them a range of supports and assistance. The Opposition knows this, and Housing Connect will continue working with the individuals to assist them with their housing needs."
