Calls from local Greens candidate Mandy Nolan for Labor to provide funding certainty for essential homeless service, the Fletcher Street Cottage, may be working, with the NSW Homelessness Minister, Rose Jackson (Labor), telling The Echo her government is ‘urgently working to identify new potential sources of funding’.
In a press release last week, Ms Nolan urged local federal Labor MP, Justine Elliot, to immediately intervene, given Labor are in government at both the state and federal level.
No ongoing funding
The cottage receives no ongoing funding from governments, and is reliant on public donations, which pay for staff, meals and facilities in Byron Bay. Despite increased demands, Ms Nolan says the cottage ‘is on the brink of cutting essential services’, and has ‘only fundraised $240,000 out of the total $1 million they require to keep services operating’.
Mrs Elliot told The Echo such services and programs were ‘matters for state and territory governments’.
‘The Australian government will provide states and territories $1.7 billion in funding under the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement. This includes $515.6 million for NSW to deliver housing and homelessness services and programs’.
Mrs Elliot also accused Ms Nolan of ‘trashing the truth’ and, ‘diverting attention’ from the Greens refusing to pass the Housing Australia Future Fund.
The Echo asked the office of Rose Jackson MLC, ‘Can some funding from the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement be made available for the cottage?’
She replied, ‘The latest street count data is just a brief glimpse into the devastating impact of the housing crisis in Byron Bay’.
‘The region was in the top five local government areas (LGAs) with the largest total increase in the number of people sleeping rough compared to 2022 – this is not good enough and needs it to change.
Backed by community
‘It is encouraging to see the community backing a crucial service, but we know we need government to do everything we can to lean in and provide support for organisations such as Fletcher Street Cottage.
‘MP Justine Elliot has been in contact with me on this to express her deep concern. I share her concerns and acknowledge this is a responsibility for the NSW government, and we are urgently working to identify new potential sources of funding that can support them to continue operating at its full capacity’.
Ms Jackson says she met with Fletcher Street Cottage staff in July, ‘to discuss this crucial issue’.
‘I take the concerns raised very seriously. The team do incredible work for the local community, and we want to ensure they are able to continue providing this vital service’.
‘The service has never been previously funded by government, and although the current budget to fund homelessness support organisations is fully allocated – we are continuing to seek alternative solutions, and I have instructed my department to look into options to provide support’.
Ms Jackson said, ‘The NSW government have inherited a housing system that is broken after over a decade of neglect’.
‘We continue to work towards our aim of ensuring that experiences of homelessness are rare, brief and not repeated.
‘This will take time, but as a start we have introduced a suite of reforms to support vulnerable people facing housing insecurity, but we know we need to do more.
Reforms introduced
‘We’ve made changes to temporary accommodation, to create a better place for people in crisis, we’re delivering more social housing, which is absolutely essential to reducing homelessness, and we’ve extended funding for specialist homelessness services to provide certainty and stability at this very difficult time.
‘We have also scrapped the rent seeker diaries, and assertive outreach services are being delivered to engage people sleeping rough and support them into long-term, stable accommodation’.
Isn’t it great to see our federal Labor representative, Justine Elliot working with the new Labor state government to attempt to find financial backing for a facility that has not previously received government support. Let’s hope some now comes their way.
I’m a little confused by this article though. It’s states that: “ Ms Jackson says she met with Fletcher Street Cottage staff in July, ‘to discuss this crucial issue’.”
But your report leads with the suggestion that “ Calls from local Greens candidate Mandy Nolan … may be working”. Omnipotent and omnipresent as Ms Nolan clearly is, it seems like the other two pollies had been onto this already!
During this, the local GREEN member was where?
I noticed that Mandy did her ‘press release ” last week, whereas,(quote) “Ms Jackson says she met with Fletcher Street Cottage staff in July, ‘to discuss this crucial issue”
This story needs more detail.
Indeed, Jimie!
Why give Nolan the credit when she is just promoting herself. Isn’t there a greens member for ballina and funding is coming from the state government not federally. Shameless self promotion by Nolan, like the call for a rental freeze nationally which is a state issue,not allowed by the constitution for the federal government to act, except getting the national cabinet to agree( that’s unlikely as that is 8 different governments).
Political candidates promoting themselves and attempting to wedge their opponents are to be expected. It’s the extent of any “leg-up” by the Echo which may determine how seriously it should be taken as a newspaper.
I wonder if the Echo is as willing to publish every press release it receives from every sources, especially ones with so little news content.
I love that one Hans, is that what you call “balanced political reporting”? “calls from Greens candidate Mandy Nolan for Labor to provide funding certainty for essential homeless service, the Fletcher Street Cottage, may be working”, seriously Hans just what happened to State MP Tamara Smith, shouldn’t she be responsible for State funding? It seems that Federal MP Justine Elliott always has to intervene to fill the gap left by an ineffective State Greens MP, God help us all if Mandy Nolan ever did replace Justine Elliott.
And Mandy needs to acknowledge that her Greens mate Jan Barham – our ex mayor – is most responsible for the shire’s lack of housing. From 1995 – 2004 she and her Green council mates created a sewerage moratorium – no extra ETs (effluent tenements) into the shire’s pipes were allowed! Change your house into a duplex = not possible! New house on vacant land = not possible!!! Build apartments = not possible!
They took 9 years to sort the sewerage problem as a covert way of protecting the town against development. And now they bark that more housing is needed. Fickle! The Greens are responsible for this situation. Tell it as it was. Mandy!
And I thought that the Greens were the “party for renters and affordable housing”, where did I ever get that idea from?