By AIDAN KNIGHT
LAST Thursday (November 13), a tent was pitched outside the office of Housing Minister Harriet Shing’s office on Commercial Road, Morwell.
The man behind the move says he did so to take a stand against pervasive discrimination and neglect faced by homeless Australians.
Identifying himself as Mike, the protester has been homeless for three years, after the dual blows of the pandemic and a serious back injury left him unable to secure stable accommodation or employment.
“I’ve been trying to get into private rentals, but as a single male, it’s nearly impossible,” Mike told the Express during his demonstration.
“It’s the same all over Australia. I used to travel for work, but once you’re out, it’s just harder and harder to get back in.”
Mike described a recent incident in Lakes Entrance, where, despite having been offered motel accommodation through housing support, was turned away.
“The people that supervised the motel (sic) … just took one look at me and my trolley … and you know what they said to the owner? Send him a message and say he looks scary. I don’t want him to stay at this motel. That’s discrimination,” he said.
The tent protest at the Minister’s office is both a plea for help and a call for action.
“We are the richest country in the southern hemisphere, and we can’t even give people priority accommodation or open up land for basic amenities,” he said.
“During COVID, the government provided temporary housing solutions, so why can’t we do something now?”
Mike’s experience reflects stories increasingly familiar to local advocates and welfare providers.
He spoke of his own solutions he would offer the Minister should she decide to speak with him as to why he was parked outside her front door, referencing ‘dongas’, prefabricated, transportable, temporary housing units often used by miners and remote area construction companies.
Mike plans to stay where he is as long as it takes to get answers, and after spending nearly a full business day outside the Minister’s office on Thursday, was not approached by any staff.
“I’m happy to disrupt their business,” he said, “they have an ABN, so that’s what they are.”
Having nowhere else to be, Mike sees it as no inconvenience to remain on the street of Commercial Rd until officials respond. The Minister’s office was also approached by the Express for comment, but did not provide one before print.
The Latrobe Valley, like much of Australia, continues to feel the pressure of rising housing instability.
Member for Morwell Martin Cameron joined in on the criticism of the Labor Government’s housing “failures”, taking to online platforms to highlight Mike’s protest as a “very sad and damning indictment”.
“People shouldn’t have to camp outside the Minister for Housing’s office just to get noticed, but that’s how dire the situation is,” he said in his post.
Mental health and isolation only deepen this crisis. “If you become homeless and you don’t have a mental health [issue], give yourself a month, you’ll have one,” Mike said. “They’re creating more issues than they’re solving.”
