Yahoo Finance 'Cruel' trend exposed as crisis forces Aussie to plead for jail time: 'Challenging'
A judge has denied a man's request to be sent to prison because he couldn't find anywhere to live.
A homeless man in Western Australia has asked a judge to send him to jail for up to two years because he can't find any suitable housing. David Ambrosius started a fire while he was sleeping in an abandoned motor inn last year in Geraldton, but the blaze grew so large that firefighters were called in.
The court case has highlighted the lengths some people are going to put a roof over their heads amid Australia's housing crisis. Shelter WA chief executive officer Kath Snell told Yahoo Finance the social housing network is dealing with a "challenging backlog" thanks to "years of underinvestment".
"The rental market in WA is also under considerable strain," she explained.
RELATED
ATO warning over $4,250 tax deduction millions can claim: ‘Surprising’
Rare coin lands Aussie $1,100 pay day: 'Bank would only give $200'
"Our state has some of the weakest renter protections under the Residential Tenancy Act, sometimes leading to substantial rent increases and many individuals being priced out of the market."
She said she's seen an increase in the number of people seeking out assistance from homelessness services, "including many who have never needed support before".
According to the latest figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 7,636 Aussies were sleeping on the street, 24,291 people were in supported accommodation for the homeless, 16,597 people were in temporary housing, 22,137 people were in boarding houses, and 47,895 people were living in ‘severely’ crowded dwellings.
Do you have a story? Email stew.perrie@yahooinc.com
Part of a global problem
The chief of the peak body representing homelessness services in Western Australia added that she's aware of the trend emerging in some areas where individuals are deliberately committing crimes to get into prison.
According to national figures, two in five adults going into the Australian prison system were homeless 30 days before they were arrested.
Sadly, this trend isn't new, nor is it confined to one country.
Back in 2010, Sheffield Hallam University in the UK released research revealing a fifth of homeless people committed "imprisonable offences" so that they could spend a night in jail.
The data also showed more than a quarter of homeless women sought out an "unwanted sexual partner" to put a roof over their heads.
Ten years later, another UK report found that 16 per cent of men and 19 per cent of women leaving prison in 2018-19 were released into homelessness, and they were more than twice as likely to re-offend than former inmates who had homes to go to.
Over in the US, there have been several cases of people admitting in court that they carried out unlawful acts just to stay off the streets.
“It’s a national climate that has deprioritised housing, and it’s created incredibly cruel choices for folks who are experiencing any form of instability,” Marc Dones, head of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority in Seattle, said to The Guardian.
'I will re-offend': WA man's bleak warning
Ambrosius was arrested in July last year and charged with failing to ensure the fire at the Batavia Motor Inn would not become uncontrolled.
He pleaded guilty and was released on bail. However, he was taken back into custody in November for breaching those bail conditions.
The 48-year-old's case was heard at Geraldton District Court, where he asked to be imprisoned for at least two years because he hadn't been able to secure housing while he was in custody.
According to the ABC, he added that if he was sent to prison then he could get employment skills and have more time to find somewhere suitable to live.
"If I'm released, I'll be reoffending," he said. "I'll be in the same circumstances and will need to re-offend.
Judge David Maclean said the Geraldton man's crimes didn't justify any more time in jail than he had already served and ordered him to be released.
Hours after his release, he was charged with trespassing and damaging property and was fined $300. The penalty won't have to be paid if he doesn't re-offend for seven days.
How much you need to get onto the property ladder in Australia
It's no secret that Australia is in the midst of a housing crisis that's spurred on by record property and rental prices, a lack of supply, immigration, planning laws, and a bunch of other factors.
"On one hand, we have disinvested in social housing and other forms of housing that are affordable," a report from the University of Queensland said.
"And on the other, there has been a lot done at the policy level to ensure housing is a commodity to be speculated. Not simply a means for people to live, housing is a vehicle through which to become wealthy.
"For the lucky ones, anyway."
Domain recently released data showing how much money you need for a 20 per cent deposit for a house in a capital city in Australia at the moment compared to five years ago.
Sydney up $125,424 to $332,000
Melbourne up $48,549 to $213,761
Brisbane up $81,498 to $195,293
Adelaide up $78,563 to $186,994
Canberra up $58,143 to $208,286
Perth up $64,313 to $170,000
Hobart up $41,039 to $137,211
Darwin up $12,012 to $117,009
That's for trying to buy your own place, and the situation isn't much better for renters.
Commonwealth Bank Australia’s (CBA) latest economic insights report revealed rents are growing at their fastest pace in more than a decade as demand for housing outstrips supply.
Household behaviours have begun to adapt as a result - many “economising” and choosing shared houses over single or partnered living.
The current share of people living in shared houses sits at about five per cent of the Australian population over age 15, according to the report.
In a tiny shred of good news, advertised rent growth has slowed in Sydney and Melbourne.
Social housing is a growing issue in Geraldton
According to a report in January this year, the waiting list for social housing in Geraldton, WA has been steadily climbing for years.
The number of people hoping to get into the network in Greater Geraldton jumped from 525 people in March 2019 to 820 in December 2023.
Planning, Lands, Housing, and Homelessness Minister John Carey explained at the time that there shouldn't be an automatic assumption that people seeking social housing were sleeping on the street.
“A key stat in the last two financial years, we have increased across Western Australia, the number of applicants into public housing by 34 per cent. So you’ve actually seen an increase in the number of people or applicants being housed,” he said.
But he noted that a slow construction industry was limiting the state government's rollout of more social housing.
- with NCA Newswire
Get the latest Yahoo Finance news - follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.
