4 years ago
ASSISTANT MINISTER MUST COME BACK INTO THE PARLIAMENT AND CORRECT THE RECORD
JASON CLARE MP
Yesterday in Question Time I asked the Minister representing the Minister for Families and Social Services:
Why did the Assistant Minister for Homelessness claim the rate of homelessness is “not ahead of population growth” when in fact homelessness is growing at nearly double the rate of Australia’s population?
After Question Time, in a prepared statement, the Assistant Minister Luke Howarth claimed he had been misrepresented and said:
The Member for Blaxland as well as about a week ago the ABC misrepresented me in relation to the growth in homelessness verse population. Both claimed I referred to the years 2011 Census to 2016 Census. That's untrue. I was very clear over a 15 year period from 2001 to 2016 where three levels of homelessness reduced despite a 20 per cent increase in the Australian population.
However on ABC Radio National on 9 July 2019 the Assistant Minister said:
The population from the last Census to the previous one increased by almost 20 per cent.
The facts are:
Why did the Assistant Minister for Homelessness claim the rate of homelessness is “not ahead of population growth” when in fact homelessness is growing at nearly double the rate of Australia’s population?
After Question Time, in a prepared statement, the Assistant Minister Luke Howarth claimed he had been misrepresented and said:
The Member for Blaxland as well as about a week ago the ABC misrepresented me in relation to the growth in homelessness verse population. Both claimed I referred to the years 2011 Census to 2016 Census. That's untrue. I was very clear over a 15 year period from 2001 to 2016 where three levels of homelessness reduced despite a 20 per cent increase in the Australian population.
However on ABC Radio National on 9 July 2019 the Assistant Minister said:
The population from the last Census to the previous one increased by almost 20 per cent.
The facts are:
- 116,427 Australians are homeless according to the ABS.
- The rate of homelessness in Australia has increased by 13.7% between the 2011 and 2016 Census, whereas population growth has seen an 8.8% increase between the 2011 and 2016 Census.
The Assistant Minister needs to be more honest with the Australian people and the Australian Parliament. He needs to come back into the Parliament and correct the record.