A shortage of affordable homes, casualisation of the work force, uninhabitable social housing stock and red tape are just some of the issues contributing to the housing crisis in the Illawarra.
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That was the consenus amongst a round-table of housing providers that spoke with Labor MP Stephen Jones and Shadow Minister for Housing and Homelessness Jason Clare.
The group met in Warilla on Monday to discuss what could be done to address the crisis in the Illawarra.
"We know we've got a huge issue with housing affordability, and it's affecting all areas of the market," Mr Jones said.
"Whether you're a first home buyer, a renter, a student or someone fleeing domestic violence, you're affected by it.
"It means people are homeless, people are living in overcrowded conditions."
Mr Clare said of particular concern was the fact that rental properties were often no longer affordable or available for families on a dual income.
"The vacancy in the Illawarra dropped from 2.6 per cent to .8 per cent," Mr Clare said.
"One of the consequences of that is rents are going up.
"Today I heard of a family, mum and dad both have a job, they can afford $700 a week and can't find a place."
Mr Clare said if Labor won the next election they would commit $10 billion to an investment scheme for social and affordable housing.
Affordable housing includes subsidised homes for nurses, child care workers and other poorly-paid professionals.
He said it would create tens of thousands of jobs in the construction phase.
"The first thing we need to do is build a national strategy that includse state governments, local governments, everyone that's involved in this space," he said.
Housing Trust CEO Michele Adair said there needed to be a complete shake-up of housing in NSW.
"This problem isn't going away - the government's own projections employment trends mean that in the future seven of the 10 job categories that will grow the most are in the lowest wage brackets," she said.
"In NSW a couple with two children are eligible for subsidised rental housing if they earn $124,000 a year. These are good, full-time wages. If a family on $124,000 a year cannot afford rent in NSW, that speaks to a fundamentally broken housing system."
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