Homelessness and climate change key topics at council elections forum

The online forums will be hosted by community leaders working together as the Hunter Community Alliance, and seek policy commitments on those issues which it has identified as areas of concern.

Alliance members sought feedback from the community between October 2020 and April 2021, collecting 155 stories which highlighted housing insecurity, homelessness and climate change as respondents' key issues. Members of the alliance used the feedback to develop policy proposals for local governments to adopt in response.

Connect the Hunter coordinator for Hunter Homeless Connect, Nissa Phillips, who will co-chair of the Lake Macquarie forum and will also speak at the Newcastle forum, said members of the community were deeply concerned about rising rates of homelessness and housing insecurity across Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, and the Hunter.

"Organising with the Hunter Community Alliance was a great opportunity to collaborate with a diverse group of service providers, churches, environmental, union and community groups, to start formulating a whole of community response to homelessness amidst a housing affordability crisis," she said.

"The stories we heard in our listening campaign, some of which will be shared at our forum, spoke to a very broad experience of homelessness and housing insecurity.

"Homelessness isn't just people sleeping rough on the streets. Some of those stories shared included working families staying with friends and family or sleeping in their cars, students and young people with constant housing insecurity, women over 50 experiencing homelessness in increasing numbers, and of service providers at capacity."

The Reverend Tom Stuart, of Charlestown-Garden Suburbs Uniting Church, who will co-chair the Lake Macquarie event, said fires threatening the homes of congregation members, and the weeks of smoke and ash in the sky during the summer of 2019-2020 had made the reality of climate change very real for many people in his community.

Mayoral candidates for Newcastle and Lake Macquarie councils will have the chance to give a three-minute speech, followed by time to confirm their commitment to progress the Alliance policies - or not. The policies include taking all possible steps to reduce city-wide emissions, with set targets and timeframes to do so, and equipping the community to cope with more frequent and intense heat waves.

The Newcastle online forums will be held between 6.30 and 8pm on Thursday, November 4, while the Lake Macquarie forum will be held on Thursday, November 11, with registrations via eventbrite. The speakers will include the CEO of Nova for Women and Children, Kelly Hansen; Hunter Tenants Advocacy & Advice Service coordinator Nicole Grgas; James Whelan of Newcastle Climate Action; and Jacquie Svensen, from Newcastle Climate Change Response.IN THE NEWS:

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