A Latrobe City Council motion at the National Assembly of Councils in Canberra calling on all state governments to cease relocating housing clients with “complex needs” to rural and regional areas has passed.
The motion said that if state governments would not stop relocating these clients, the state should immediately increase funding to rural and regional support sectors in the areas of family violence, mental health and drug and alcohol addiction “in recognition of the impact of ice on these communities”.
Latrobe City councillor Sharon Gibson, who was the instigator of the motion, welcomed the result.
“All through the conference I was speaking to people about the motion and it was interesting to note other councils could understand exactly what I meant,” she said.
“They were in the same boat.”
Ms Gibson said the relocation of housing clients to rural and regional areas, and particularly Latrobe City, further exacerbated issues that were already often prevalent.
“Even as it is, we don’t have enough of the services to support our community that are already here,” she said.
“There has always been problems with getting access to the right medical treatment. So it has always been a problem, it has just been exacerbated by this.”
Ms Gibson said people with complex needs, such as drug and alcohol dependencies, needed appropriate support which wasn’t always readily available in regional and rural areas, particularly Latrobe.
“You see them hop off the train, they have a suitcase, they get off, they don’t know where anything is and they have no support and they have real issues,” she said.
“You wouldn’t do that to a dog.
“But we are doing to people that have real issues, drugs alcohol, whatever it is, issues that really need the right services.”
The National General Assembly of Local Government was held over June 17 to 20.
The Department of Health and Human Services was preparing a response at time of publication.
The motion said that if state governments would not stop relocating these clients, the state should immediately increase funding to rural and regional support sectors in the areas of family violence, mental health and drug and alcohol addiction “in recognition of the impact of ice on these communities”.
Latrobe City councillor Sharon Gibson, who was the instigator of the motion, welcomed the result.
“All through the conference I was speaking to people about the motion and it was interesting to note other councils could understand exactly what I meant,” she said.
“They were in the same boat.”
Ms Gibson said the relocation of housing clients to rural and regional areas, and particularly Latrobe City, further exacerbated issues that were already often prevalent.
“Even as it is, we don’t have enough of the services to support our community that are already here,” she said.
“There has always been problems with getting access to the right medical treatment. So it has always been a problem, it has just been exacerbated by this.”
Ms Gibson said people with complex needs, such as drug and alcohol dependencies, needed appropriate support which wasn’t always readily available in regional and rural areas, particularly Latrobe.
“You see them hop off the train, they have a suitcase, they get off, they don’t know where anything is and they have no support and they have real issues,” she said.
“You wouldn’t do that to a dog.
“But we are doing to people that have real issues, drugs alcohol, whatever it is, issues that really need the right services.”
The National General Assembly of Local Government was held over June 17 to 20.
The Department of Health and Human Services was preparing a response at time of publication.
