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2022 Federal Election Response

23 May 2022
Anthony Albanese visiting Sacred Heart Mission

Sacred Heart Mission congratulates Labor as the new Government of Australia and Mr Anthony Albanese on being elected as Australia’s 31st Prime Minister.

The election of a new government, alongside a range of diverse candidates including large numbers of independents and minor parties highlights that the Australian people are ready for change in their community.

The 2022 election campaign focused on the challenges with rising costs of living, particularly for those experiencing poverty and disadvantage, housing affordability, slow wage growth and the climate crisis – which we know has greater implications on people who are already experiencing disadvantage.

Commitment to addressing the housing crisis

Sacred Heart Mission was pleased to see the Labor campaign feature a commitment to establish a $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund, with the goal of building 30,000 new social and affordable housing properties in its first five years. This is a strong commitment from the incoming government to addressing the housing affordability and homelessness crises.

The coming term of government will face significant challenges in supporting Australia to deal with the ongoing impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, rising inequality and the climate crisis. Labor’s commitments in addressing these challenges make us feel optimistic about the future and the wellbeing of our community.

Opportunity to increase Centrelink payments

Sacred Heart Mission’s CEO Cathy Humphrey says, “Sacred Heart Mission looks forward to working with the incoming government and continuing to advocate for those experiencing homelessness, housing stress and disadvantage. We believe the greatest change the incoming government could make immediately to the lives of people living in poverty is to increase Centrelink payments, and we will continue to advocate for that position.”

“Sacred Heart Mission also looks forward to collaborating with the new government on expanding our housing-first, outcomes-focused program, Journey to Social Inclusion (J2SI). This program has been proven to help people break the cycle of chronic homelessness and saves the government millions of dollars in public expenditure by reducing the use of public services including hospitals, acute mental health care and our prison system.”

We welcome the new Prime Minister’s commitment to the incoming Government working in partnership with the community sector, to create a brighter, more resilient and inclusive Australia.