Ms TRISH DOYLE (Blue Mountains) (21:38): I have spoken in this House many times before about the housing and homelessness crisis in the Blue Mountains. The largest cause of homelessness in Australia is domestic violence. Women who do not own property and who have low super are disproportionally impacted. Women of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage and women with disabilities are left behind and are particularly vulnerable, suffering double discrimination. The lack of investment in permanent affordable housing under this Government is a disgrace. There is a chronic shortfall of affordable and social housing, and a huge amount of people are couch surfing or house‑sitting due to the lack of housing options, whether they are considered part of a vulnerable cohort or not.

Home and rental prices have soared, and during COVID we saw Airbnb numbers triple when Sydneysiders escaped the huge prices down the hill to snap up the remaining slightly more affordable homes in the Blue Mountains for the temptation of short‑term holiday income, making it less affordable for locals. I have heard stories about people living in substandard boarding houses for months on end, applying endlessly for rentals only to be constantly rejected. I have heard the desperate cries for help, and I have seen this Government ignore them. This is nothing new. For the last decade under this Government people have been denied the basic human right for affordable, safe shelter.

The Government's failure to act on the issue of housing has caused the homelessness crisis that we see today. It has forced people to move away from the place they call home. It forces people in domestic violence situations to stay or become homeless because they cannot afford the exorbitant rental or housing prices. Experts in housing, politicians and people in the community know that there is a growing gap between supply and demand. Options are limited, and everyone deserves safe, secure and affordable homes, but our social housing system is not coping with the crisis to which the New South Wales Government has condemned the most vulnerable people in Australia. In last month's budget, the "losers" according to aSydney Morning Herald report analysis include potential recipients of social housing. With no new housing stock, the 50,000 people on housing waitlists will be disappointed. This disaster has forced people to look outside the square and find innovative solutions to issues that have been plaguing the community for a decade.

Recently I was invited by the Blue Mountains women's housing trust to attend a forum to discuss the Walanmarra Artists and Blue Mountains community land trust. The land trust would create permanently affordable housing in the Blue Mountains that is governed by the local community, and the land would be developed based on the needs within that community. Many successful community land trusts are thriving in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. An example that stands out is the Dudley Street Neighbourhood Initiative in Boston. In their own words, the initiative empowers residents to organise, plan for, create and control a vibrant, diverse and high‑quality neighbourhood in collaboration with community partners. They are ordinary people creating new futures through a community‑led response to the need for homes and a significant, creative solution offering permanent, affordable homes. It is an ethical approach and a model that is not dictated by the government, but rather starts with strong voices within the community and is governed the same way.

Professor Louise Crabtree‑Hayes, who attended the forum and has a background in urban sustainability, housing diversity and complex adaptive systems, said that every community land trust gets to define what it means for that community. The possibilities include home ownership, affordable rentals and so much more that would be based on local need. That would mean that women and children trying to leave domestic violence situations would have shelter. Families looking to live in the community that they grew up in would have a place to call home. Young people looking to buy their first home would have more opportunities, and the community would have their say.

Under this Government house prices have skyrocketed, and safe, affordable housing has been made so rare that families are living in their cars. Women and children in domestic violence situations are forced to stay. We need to look at alternative options like community land trusts, which are a not‑for‑profit response to local need. I urge the Government to look into land trusts which have proven status, such as the Dudley Street Neighbourhood Initiative. Community voice is valuable, and a national housing strategy that incorporates those concepts is essential.