The question posed to the panel and audience was "Why do we have homeless in Goulburn?"

The panel included: Saint Vincent de Paul’s representative Warwick Fulton, Angels For The Forgotten founder Melina Skidmore, Anglicare crisis housing manager Toni Reay, Goulburn Greens member Iain Fyfe, Goulburn Labor’s Ursula Stephens  and Liberal Democrat Dean McRae. 

Initially the speakers presented a range of statistics about homelessness in Goulburn, stating there was an increase of 14 per cent in homeless people here and an increase of 37pc across NSW, according to the ABS. 

“This equates to 112 people in Goulburn, Toni Reay said. 

But Melina Skidmore said the unofficial statistics were much higher, stating her service assisted 717 people last financial year and this had increased to over 1000 for this financial year.

“They are from all walks of life, not just the stereotype of people with mental health or drug and alcohol issues,” she said. 

"A lot of people can not afford a house here – including me in two week’s time.” 

Toni Reay said many people are just one life crisis away from homelessness.”

“It can happen to anyone at anytime - people are just one major life event away, whether it is a single parent family that just cant pay that bill or an older person needing medical treatment,” she said. 

Ursula Stephens said the increase of 37pc across NSW meant 10,000 more people becoming homeless. 

“The state government has recently announced it will spend $1b on homelessness, that they are committed to providing 27,000 more affordable houses in NSW over the next 10 years,” Mrs Stephens said.

“The trouble is the government is playing catch up because it has sold off Millers Point and The Rocks and half as much public housing as they have built over the past three years.

“There are 55,000 people waiting for public housing in NSW.”

But instead of politicians providing the solutions, she asked: “what is our responsibility as a community to solve the problem locally?”

“Initiatives like tax reductions, incentives to landlords, increasing Newstart and Youth Allowance is a start, but we also need to find a way that business in Goulburn can do something like the Common Ground program, which is a transitional service that helps people going from homelessness to independent living. It exists in the ACT, Sydney and Wagga Wagga. 

“We can also ask those with houses for rental accommodation to make it available to Argyle Housing and accept lower rental, with tax incentives to assist them.”

Liberal Democrat Dean McCrae spoke of Tiny Housing. These are compact dwellings that can be transportable. 

For some, Tiny Homes offer the opportunity to purchase a small home within their means rather than relying on a large mortgage. 

“Tiny House prices start at $56,000 and all the government needs to do is cut red tape, acquire some land and spend money on these,” he said. 

Peter Smyth, from Smyth Property in the Southern Highlands, said from the floor that problem was the supply of housing.

“There are a  lot of motherhood statements here tonight, but it all starts at the supply and you need investor incentives and to lift up regulations on boarding houses – then supply will keep the price down,” he said. 

“The community and the council can do a lot to assist – for instance the council owns buildings, but actually community members own such buildings – that could be thrown open to accommodate the homeless. They do this overseas.” 

This comment tied into the Goulburn Housing Strategy, with Greens Member Iain Fyfe saying local government could do a lot more to help the situation – to provide housing that was affordable and safe. 

“The council could encourage developers to build a range of housing in the city – not just provide for the middle class who commute out of town to jobs in Canberra,” he said. 

Mrs Stephens said in developing the Goulburn Housing Strategy, Goulburn Mulwaree Council was displaying an interest in diversifying the housing stock in the city.

“A lot of older people want to downsize to access places like at back of Cartwright Place,” she said. 

“The council can do a lot to assist this. They can make decisions to defer S(94) contributions and encourage diversity in housing.” 

Other issues brought up on the night included the increasing casualisation of the workforce and how this was making it harder for people to obtain and pay for mortgages.

The gap that young people (18-25) often fell into once they left the care of the state was also raised. 

In answer to what could be done for such young people, Mrs Stephens said the government should reinvest in TAFE to give young people more skills as well as trying to attract more industries and jobs to Goulburn by offering business more incentives to do so.