CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS

Mrs McINTOSH (Lindsay) (16:53): As the Albanese Labor government's cost-of-living crisis continues to squeeze household budgets, families across Australia, including in my electorate of Lindsay, are being pushed to the edge. Most confronting of all, this now includes working mums and dads relying on local food banks to feed their families. The number of people sleeping rough across New South Wales has increased by 75 per cent since 2020.

In Lindsay, more people are sleeping rough than many of us can remember. It is a confronting sign of how severe the housing crisis has become under this government—so much so that the Salvation Army is now warning homelessness has become a national emergency. The 2026 NSW Street Count identified 17 people experiencing street homelessness in the Penrith local government area, but homelessness is often hidden from view, taking the form of couch surfing, overcrowded housing, motel rooms and cars.

We know just by seeing people sleeping rough on the streets that the numbers are significantly higher. Mission Australia's 2025 social justice stocktake paints a far more confronting picture, estimating that nearly 800 people were experiencing homelessness across my electorate and that our community is short of more than 5,200 homes. Yet only 2,467 dwellings have been approved for construction in the Penrith LGA since July 2024, so it's just not stacking up.

At the same time, homelessness services are overwhelmed. In 2024-25, services across Australia were unable to meet almost 129,000 requests for assistance. That's an average of 353 people turned away every single day.

Of those helped, about 117,000 were escaping family and domestic violence. In Lindsay, Paying It Forward has seen a 120 per cent increase in demand, with more working families seeking meals than ever before. Penrith Women's Health Centre is supporting a growing cohort of working mothers who are fleeing violence only to find themselves sleeping in their car because there is nowhere else to go.

That is the human cost of the Albanese government's cost-of-living crisis. Over 420,000 households are experiencing mortgage stress across our country. Nearly 70,000 households are waiting for social housing in New South Wales, including 2,100 in the Penrith LGA, where even priority applicants face a median wait of 3½ months.

With a third of Australians just a few pay cheques away from being homeless, it is little wonder that confidence in the government's handling of housing and of the cost of living has completely evaporated. That's why during Homelessness Week 2026, my office stepped up to support local people doing it tough. I want to thank all the local charities that got on board for everything that you do every day.

The generosity of our community represents the very best of Australia. We need this now more than ever because of this government.