Homelessness

The majority voted in favour of a motion introduced by Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi (NSW) and Labor Senator Doug Cameron (NSW), which means it succeeded.

Motions like these don't make any legal changes on their own. However, they are politically influential as they represent the will of the Senate.

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) the Coalition Government has failed to commit to any specific targets to reduce homelessness,

(ii) homelessness has risen by 14 per cent, and the number of people sleeping rough has risen by an alarming 20 per cent since 2011, and

(iii) homelessness service providers are calling for a national solution to end homelessness; and

(b) calls on the Federal Government to develop and implement a well-resourced National Homelessness Strategy that:

(i) has specific targets to reduce homelessness,

(ii) develops and implements approaches, in partnership with states and territories, to prevent homelessness, and

(iii) develops and implements a framework of continued support for people to break the cycle of homelessness.