Media Release by Senator the Hon Mark Arbib

14 New Social Housing Dwellings in Melbourne

Joint Media Release with:

  • Senator Gavin Marshall, Senator for Victoria

Vulnerable people in Melbourne will benefit from a new social housing development opened today, supported with $3.5 million from the Australian Government.

Minister for Social Housing and Homelessness Mark Arbib and the Senator for Victoria Gavin Marshall today welcomed the opening of the new development in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, which will offer safe and secure homes for people in need.

“This development will provide a stable home for seniors, people with disabilities and people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness,” Senator Marshall said.

“It features 14 units all with universal design principles and six-star energy rating.

“I would like to thank Yarra Community Housing for their involvement in the development and management of this housing development.

“Through this development, we are helping to reduce homelessness, and are giving vulnerable people in Melbourne a better future.”

The development, worth $4.9 million in total, is partly funded through the Australian Government’s Social Housing Initiative, which is designed to assist low income Australians who are homeless or struggling in the private rental market.

The Australian Government’s $5.6 billion investment under the Social Housing Initiative represents the single largest investment in social housing ever undertaken by an Australian Government.

Senator Arbib welcomed the new development which will give peace of mind to some of the vulnerable people in Melbourne in need of a home.

“These wonderful new homes will give some of our most vulnerable a place to call home,” Senator Arbib said.

“Under the Social Housing Initiative, around 19,600 homes are being constructed across the nation and will be completed by June 2012 – over 16,200 of these have already been completed.

“In Victoria, more than 3600 of the over 4600 new homes we have committed funding to have been completed under the Social Housing Initiative.

“Through the Initiative, the Australian Government has supported more than 15,000 jobs nationally, and helped shield Australia from the recession that hit most other economies.”