Minutes of the Homelessness Taskforce Shoalhaven
Meeting Date: Thursday, 10 March 2022
Location: Council Chambers, City Administrative Centre, Bridge Road, Nowra
Time: 2:07pm
The following members were present:
Mayor Amanda Findley - Chairperson
Clr Liza Butler
Clr Moo D'Ath
Clr Patricia White
Clr John Wells
Clr Evan Christen (remotely)
Clr Tonia Gray (remotely) – left meeting at 3:45pm
Julie Hopkins – Community Member
Peter Dover - Salt Ministries
Patricia David - Unions Shoalhaven
Olivia Todhunter – Legal Aid NSW
Ash Hudson – Salt
Alice Russack – Yumaro Moruya
Mitchell Bagou – St Vincent De Paul (remotely)
Kristy Puckeridge – Southern Youth & Family Services (remotely)
Emilie Martin – Grand Pacific Health (remotely)
Libby Topp - Shoalhaven Drug & Alcohol Service (remotely) – left meeting at 3:28pm
Lindy Meeves – Nowra Community Mental Health Services (remotely)
Julie Bugden – Shoalhaven Homeless Hub (remotely)
Ruby Hansen-Tarrant (remotely)
Kim Spinks – Dept of Communities & Justice(remotely)
Lucinda Knapp – Aboriginal Legal Service (remotely)
Donna Corbyn – Bay & Basin Community Resources (remotely) – left meeting at 3:46pm
Nicole Nicholls – Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District (remotely) – joined 2:45pm
Justine O’Reilly – Shoalhaven Community Legal Centre
Others Present:
Jane Lewis – Director City Lifestyles
Gordon Clark – Interim Director City Futures
Colin Wood – Manager – Certification & Compliance
Michael Paine – Manager – Community Connections
Marsha Makary – Community Capacity Builder Homelessness
Brooke Aldous – Senior Governance Officer
Ms Kirsty Vezinias – Community Capacity – Student Placement
Raul Arregui (remotely) – left meeting at 3:47pm
Mick Sweeney
Digby Hughes – Homelessness NSW
Blake Richards – CEO My Best Life
Mayor Amanda Findley was appointed Chairperson for the Homelessness Taskforce Shoalhaven. No other nominations were received.
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Apologies were received from Matthew Sutcliffe – Salvation Army and Clr Matthew Norris.
RESOLVED (Patricia David / Clr White) That the Minutes of the Homelessness Taskforce Shoalhaven held on Thursday 14 October 2021 be confirmed.
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Nil
HT22.4 Shoalhaven Homelessness Taskforce Committee Community Membership Expression of Interest - Member Recommendation Report |
HPERM Ref: D22/61748 |
Marsha Makary – Community Capacity Builder – Homelessness, provided a brief update on the Expression of Interest Panel process and some background on the proposed new members who are being put forward to join the Taskforce. |
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Recommendation That: 1. Four applicants are invited to represent their organisation on the Taskforce: · Ruby Hansen-Tarrant - Age Matters · Grace Rey – Socks and Jocks · Liz O’Connell – Mission Australia · Alice Russack – Yumaro (NDIS) The above organisations are not currently represented on the committee. 2. Three community membership appointments are offered to applicants with lived experience: · Michael Sweeney – Bomaderry · Shirley Taylor – Ulladulla · Keith Davis – Ulladulla (itinerant) 3. Three community membership appointments are offered to represent community members with an interest in homelessness: · Raul Arregui – North Nowra · Julianne Hopkins – Nowra · Stuart Bellingham – Mollymook
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RECOMMENDATION (Clr White / Patricia David) That: 1. Four applicants are invited to represent their organisation on the Taskforce: · Ruby Hansen-Tarrant - Age Matters · Grace Rey – Socks and Jocks · Liz O’Connell – Mission Australia · Alice Russack – Yumaro (NDIS) The above organisations are not currently represented on the committee. 2. Three community membership appointments are offered to applicants with lived experience: · Michael Sweeney – Bomaderry · Shirley Taylor – Ulladulla · Keith Davis – Ulladulla (itinerant) 3. Three community membership appointments are offered to represent community members with an interest in homelessness: · Raul Arregui – North Nowra · Julianne Hopkins – Nowra · Stuart Bellingham – Mollymook
CARRIED
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HPERM Ref: D22/71284 |
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Marsha Makary – Community Capacity Builder – Homelessness, put forward the recommendation for suggested representatives Digby Hughes – Homelessness NSW & Blake Richards – My Best Life Australia to be invited to join the Homelessness Taskforce Shoalhaven representing their organisations. Discussion centred around the Tempy Nester program which is run by My Best Life Australia. Blake Richards provided the following information in relation to the program and also the work of My Best Life Australia: · Tempy Nester is a national program that provides temporary accommodation to women and children escaping domestic and family violence and homelessness. This is a significant issue across Australia. The Tempy Nester program currently focuses mostly on the NSW Central Coast. · My Best Life (MBL) are developing a "safe house" program which will focus on assisting mature aged women who are struggling with homelessness - currently the biggest growth area in homelessness is women over 55. · My Best Life Australia is targeting teenagers that are couch surfing - over 300 teenagers have been identified as couch surfing just in the Ulladulla region. · Preliminary discussions have been held with Church of Christ in South Nowra as well as the Ground Swell Church Ulladulla who are doing a conjunctional project with Safe Waters. My Best Life has had discussions with these organisations about the possibility of expanding tiny homes for emergency or long term accommodation.
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Recommendation (Item to be determined under delegated authority) That the following representatives be invited to represent their organisations on the Shoalhaven Homelessness Taskforce: · Blake Richards (My Best Life Australia) · Digby Hughes (Homelessness NSW)
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That the following representatives be invited to represent their organisations on the Shoalhaven Homelessness Taskforce: · Blake Richards (My Best Life Australia) · Digby Hughes (Homelessness NSW)
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GENERAL BUSINESS
HT22.8 Additional Item - Update - Director City Futures - Affordable Housing Strategy |
Gordon Clark – Interim Director City Futures - provided an update on Council’s Affordable Housing Strategy. Action – It was noted that a written summary report will be provided at the next meeting. · Main short term action that Council has been working on over the past 4-5 years is the affordable housing opportunity at Coomea Street, Bomaderry. There are now 5 parcels of land that Council owned that have been transferred to Southern Cross Housing who have now lodged a DA to potentially provide up to 39 affordable housing units on the site. There is a Community Housing Agreement that the site is to be used for affordable housing and if it is ever sold any profit from the sale has to go back to affordable housing in the Shoalhaven. · In terms of short term actions: o Council is continually amending planning controls to enable smaller and more affordable product, and o working on broader advocacy to State Government particularly around the opportunity of renewing the NSW Land and Housing Portfolio which has the biggest potential to provide and increase in essential affordable housing . · Medium term actions include a range of things in this space such as providing additional floorspace and parking discounts for affordable housing, and pursuing appropriate medium-density, boarding-houses and secondary dwelling development. · An internal Affordable Housing Working Group has been established consisting of Council staff from Community Connections, Property and Strategic Planning to implement longer term actions. · Council recently released its “Advocacy Projects 2022” document which has been provided to the two main Federal Government election candidates, and subsequently met with them. The document has also been provided to local State Members as well as the relevant Ministers and Shadow Ministers of the Federal Government. The need for additional funding for social and affordable housing is identified within the document. · Council has signed up to a new demographic profiling tool called Housing ID which provides statistics on housing availability and affordability in Shoalhaven and continues to track into future. It can be accessed at: https://housing.id.com.au/shoalhaven Mayor Findley advised the Taskforce that she applied to be the Local Government NSW Regional Representative on the NSW Housing Taskforce. Clr White requested information on the Development Application lodged with Council by Southern Cross Housing for 27 units to be built on the corner of South Street and St Vincent Street and acknowledged that she was aware of a number of objections have been received on this matter. Gordon Clark responded to advise that letters of support are just important as letters of objections. Members of the Homelessness Taskforce Shoalhaven are encouraged to submit letters of support for this development. Please refer to DA22/1078 Clr Wells asked whether there is opportunity for rezoning development land to residential to create sites for affordable housing. Clr Wells expressed his concern over the decommissioning of state housing stock in the area, particularly around Bomaderry and questioned whether Council has investigated the strategy and cost savings in reinventing or redeveloping that stock. Gordon Clark advised that Council have been raising this with State Government over the past three years. As the property stock that is owned by the NSW Government is managed locally by Southern Cross Housing, there may be a possible three way project between Council, Southern Cross Housing and the NSW Land & Housing Corporation to renew the housing stock in Bomaderry and other areas to clarify what can be done to increase housing opportunities. Action - Clr Wells requested the Homelessness Taskforce Shoalhaven be kept informed of any developments on this matter. Clr Findley advised Council have also been discussing with the Land & Housing Corporation the issue of selling housing stock. Council has recommended that they are not sold prior to developing a renewal strategy for Shoalhaven.
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Note: Libby Topp left the meeting, the time being 3:28pm
Note: Clr Gray left the meeting, the time being 3:45pm
Note: Donna Corbyn left the meeting, the time being 3:46pm
Note: Raul Arregui left the meeting, the time being 3:47pm
There being no further business, the meeting concluded, the time being 3:52pm.
Mayor Amanda Findley
CHAIRPERSON