“We are well-off as a state and there's a huge budget surplus, yet we still have tens of thousands of forgotten people - those who suffer disadvantage because of poverty, family and community violence, child abuse, crime, drug addiction, or homelessness”.

“The attitude of the old parties is that these people are largely to blame for their plight," said Jennifer Alden. "However, the Greens say that support structures and Government attitudes are at fault, because they create divisions and have widened the gulf of disadvantage we see in Victoria today.”

“Check out the Liberals, Nationals and Labor policies and you'll find no vision or leadership about how to improve the lives of those marginalised in our society,” said Jennifer Alden. "Yet we have 43,000 people on waiting lists for public housing here in Victoria, who have little or no hope of getting a secure home. And the situation is even more bleak for people with a disability or mental illness."

"There are areas in rural Victoria where there is no crisis accommodation for women and children fleeing violence at all," said Jennifer Alden. "This just isn’t good enough in 21st century society."

“Housing is a basic human right, but poverty and homelessness are increasing due to a dramatic decline in housing affordability,“ said Jennifer Alden. “The Greens will invest an extra $100 million is social housing and bring back State Government bonds to stimulate investment in safe, secure and community-oriented housing projects.”

“The Greens are committed to reforms that will promote respect and inclusion for those most disadvantaged in society," said Jennifer Alden. "Our aim is to create social structures that create wellbeing for all in the community.”

"That's why, to protect low paid workers and their families, the Greens will also work to bring back Victoria's industrial relations powers from Canberra," said Jennifer Alden. "The State Government could do this with a stroke of a pen, but the ALP refuses to even talk about it, let alone act, to provide this most basic protection from John Howard's workplace
and employment nightmare."

For more information and comment, please contact:
Jennifer Alden on (mob) 0427 430 233
email: jenniferalden@vic.greens.org.au,
or
Dave Lane on (mob) 0419 156 213.

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