Homelessness is about human beings, not their gender.

A heartfelt message to be sure. It just shows how critically important it is for young people to take spouse selection seriously and to have lots of children that will be there for you when you get older.

Helen:
I'm not sure Labor will fix very much? Given those benches are invariably filled with comfortable well off middle class folk, Who seem to think, a single night sleeping rough once are year, will confer insight?

As negatively geared landlords, too many of them are, [I'm all right Jack,] part of the problem, they've had yonks to fix!

Moreover, fewer children these days will buy a parent a home, as I did!

I mean, the worker now carries the bulk of our tax liability, with pensioners even paying a GST on essentials that may include energy. Generated in power stations their taxes bought and paid for, etc/etc!

Then they are slugged a fuel excise tax on top of that even in the remote villages and where housing is still affordable but invariably, have the distinction of extremely limited public transport.

There's no easy answer here! [Premer Andrews euthanasia perhaps?]

Nor is making the government responsible for our older citizens, essentially abandoned by their kids, the answer.

The answer, is politically unpalatable in most of Labor's ranks. And starts with genuinely affordable base load energy!

Denied!

Why?

Because nuclear energy is not Labor policy! Also, real tax reform, that stops letting major multinationals off the hook, you know those one third, who pay no tax whatsoever!

Even so, the top tax rate paid as real money, to treasury last year, topped out at 17%. Yet here we have the equally inept conservatives, rabbiting on about tax breaks for millionaires.

So, we do need to grow the economy, while seriously slowing migration to essential skills based and family reunion only!

Moreover, if we but grow the economy without overstimulating population growth! Homelessness would all but vanish overnight, for virtually all demographics, save say, panhandling drunks?

As a father of Daughters, who will likely as not never ever be able to afford to buy their own home! I'd offer to share my home, except I'm over dictatorial, dominating dowagers well into their dotage.
Alan B.

Ttbn.

I don't agree. There is a fundamental psychological difference between male and female imperatives for life.

Women are gifted with the nesting instinct, while the male of our species, have the roaming gene imbedded.

For a woman to be homeless, and wandering without a nest, is doubly painful.

It is a very sick society, especially a wealthy one, that fails to make a priority of housing its vulnerable women and children.

It's a standard to call women and children to the life boats of a sinking ship.

Seems 'equality' has caught up with them perhaps ? Lots of homeless men many years back...thoughts ?

The one main driver she missed is divorce. I listened to a fascinating ABC program on older women homelessness a couple of years ago and the one theme that ran through all the stories was divorce. The unintended consequences of the change to no fault divorce in the 1970's. It doesn't matter if men have more super than women if they are living as a couple. We seem to have forgotten that marriage is an economic relationship as well as a personal one and when we do away with it both parties suffer. Men end up socially isolated and women sometimes end up homeless.

Here, here and well said DD!
Alan B.

I cannot understand why we have so many homeless. Where are the families and friends of these people? Surely if women stayed home and raised a family then one of those children would offer a bed?
And it's pointless saying that often the family doesn't have room. There is always room. Children don't need to have a room to themselves. I have been sharing my bedroom with grandchildren for years. How many minority ethnic people do you see on the Streets? Some cultures would never allow their elders to be homeless, regardless of how crowded the house was.
Have they no friends they can house share with?
Which is my final point.
Why do homeless people not get together and share a house? It would be affordable, even if they had to share a bedroom. Anything is better than living in a car or on the street.

a lot less homelessness before the regressives decided to break down the natural structure of the family. What a mess the secularist have made.

This is just a party political broadcast for the ALP. They have been in power before and, as already pointed out, were responsible for many of the current problems causing homelessness.

DD,

I disagree with your disagreement with me:).

Albie,

Yes. If they want equality of pay, jobs and playing male sports, they should be prepared to take the blokey knocks that go with those things. Of course, they don't really want equality, though; they want superiority.

Big Nana, "Why do homeless people not get together and share a house?"

Drugs, booze.

Drug use is also a common factor in becoming and remaining homeless, and many more women are taking drugs.

General comment
I note that this Labor politician is silent on her own party's 'progressivism' in removing earlier access to the age pension for women. That countered to some extent the years of loss of earning due to children. A case of throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

Leog, if drugs or similar issues cause homelessness then providing more housing is not going to solve the problem is it

Big Nana,

The government housing provided rapidly degenerates into filthy, rubbish-strewn squats. Since the housing is strewn through all suburbs, every home owner gets the opportunity(sic) to have his/her asset diminished in value by the neighbourhood ferals, their guests, their junkyard dogs, broken down and stolen vehicles and the wind-blown rubbish.

Government freely admits that it cannot afford to supply, maintain and manage welfare housing. -That is why government has been shifting its responsibility onto private developers and private investors. It is openly admitted and often arrogantly so, that 'rich' landlords can afford losses from trashed properties and lost rent. The regulations are written to protect the professional nuisances and ferals.

A lot of garbage in this article, typical of a woman libber.

First divorce. This is today a woman's cash cow. Men lose more than 50% of any joint assets, & more than 50% of their super. One neighbour here lost 60% of the property he inherited through his father from his grandfather.

He acquired this assert before the marriage, but she got 55% when she chose to walk out after the kids were gone. She blew the lot on travel in 3 years, then "HAD" to become homeless to get into public housing.

There are many more reasons for female homelessness than circumstance or bad luck, where as half the male homelessness is due to divorce settlements favouring women.

Western society is seriously stuffed.

I love how the "progressives" love to point the finger at the liberal government for not doing enough when the Labor government did sweet F-all during the 6 years of their regime.

The problem of homelessness is exacerbated by many if not most of the homeless having mental health / drug problems which make them unsuitable for standard housing.

Helen: there are simple solutions, e.g. (1) men should do more child care both before and after separation / divorce; and (2) ban advertising of alcohol to reduce alcohol-fuelled domestic violence. As to (1), this would have massive overall benefit for society. Women would have more chance to develop their careers and accumulate wealth, children would have more chance to maintain strong relationships with both parents, and fathers would get to see more of their children. As to (2), this option is extremely simple. It would only take a parliamentary drafter half a day, if that, to whip up a bill to ban booze ads. All they would have to do is cut and paste from the legislation banning cigarette ads and change "tobacco" to "alcohol". After that all that would be needed is parliament to pass the bill. This would also have massive overall benefit for both women and society.