Clare O’Neil:
May agreed to say a few words to you about his experience. Just wondering if we might actually just let KD go first to just get it out of the way because, you know, it’s a big, big thing. And these are all – these people might be a bit mean to me, but they’re not going to be mean to you.
Journalist:
We’ll be nice to you.
O’Neil:
You can come here, KD. And Josh, if you might like to hop over here. And he’s got an amazing story. Very excited for you to hear it.
KD: Sorry, guys, I didn’t realise how small I wrote.
O’Neil:
You take your time. Take as much time as you need.
KD:
I’ll try and look up as much as I can, but I’ve got to read this [inaudible].
Journalist:
That’s all good.
KD:
I’ll start with good morning. My name is KD. I’m an ambassador at the Foyer Foundation and a resident at Foyer Central, which is a Youth Foyer based in Sydney for young people aged 18 to 24 to reside in for up to 18 months. I’m here today because I want everyone to know that a young person’s past does not diminish their future or potential. Before Foyer, I was living in foster cares and group homes my entire life, constantly getting in fights at school, and I’d often get told I wouldn’t survive the real world. Coming up to 18, I thought I’d end up homeless, and my worst fear was just becoming another statistic. I felt defeated, and I even wrote a letter to my baby sister telling her that I wouldn’t have a place to call home anymore. A few weeks before turning 18, I found out my application to Foyer Central was successful. And that didn’t just mean a roof over my head. It meant being trusted to be in the driver’s seat of my life, while keeping a mentor in the passenger seat to support me. Foyer has given me the chance to see my real potential, feel ready to navigate such a complex world and a safe environment where my growth actually matters.
This is really small writing, I’m so sorry.
Journalist:
You’re doing really well.
KD:
A few months after moving in, I was confidently able to write a letter to my old foster sister saying, “I’m doing really well,” despite completely tearing my meniscus and needing surgery. So, maybe I shouldn’t have spoken [inaudible]. Today, I’m 19. I’m stable, I’m healthy, I’m studying my Cert III in fitness, and I’m on the pathway to the Brisbane 2032 Olympics. I’m no longer surviving the real world. I’m finally living in it. I’m dedicated to my future, and I’m standing here today not as a statistic, but as living proof of what happens when young people are trusted and given the opportunity to grow. If I’ve been able to turn my life around for the better simply by being trusted to and having support alongside me on the journey, just imagine the other 40,000 young people that could do that as well.
Journalist:
Do you mind if I ask a question? Is that okay?
KD:
That’s all right.
Journalist:
Yeah? Sweet. How did it feel when you got that application accepted? Can you explain how it felt at the time?
KD:
I was actually in the bathroom doing my hair. I got a phone call, and it was Dan from Foyer Central. And I was thinking, honestly, I was just prepared for, like, worst‑case scenario because, like, you know, when you’re growing up in those situations, you kind of expect the worst. Like, because you’ve had so many unfortunate experiences. So, Dan, Dan’s like, I just thought I’d let you know that the panel was successful. And I literally remember standing in the bathroom looking at myself in the mirror. I’m like, I don’t care if my hair looks crazy right now, like, I want to scream this out to the whole world. Cause I was like, holy – this better not be on [inaudible] – holy shit.
I was like, at the time it was still pretty fresh to me, so I didn’t really know how to kind of feel. But then I was like, this is honestly probably going to set me up for the best future. And at the time, I had my doubts because I was like, you know, “I don’t need any help. I don’t need any support.” I was so wrong at that time because there were so many things I would not be able to do right now if it wasn’t for the support of Foyer and the support of everyone around me. Like, being able to find those connections through Foyer too. Like, I’ve built a network. Like, I got connected to the Foyer Foundation – where’s [inaudible].
Journalist:
Over here.
KD:
Connected to the Foyer Foundation, which gave me those external connections to more services. So, yeah, I think just being able to network and really build those connections as well and know that no matter what path I really go on, there’s always support. So, I think that’s definitely how I was feeling – was uncertain, but also very privileged and very appreciative.
Journalist:
Yeah, sweet. And just very quickly, this is my last one, but what’s your message to perhaps other young people out there who might be struggling with some of the similar things that you were? What’s your message to them?
KD:
Because I’m a very poetic person, but honestly, I’d say like, just because you’ve had such, like, an unfortunate past, it doesn’t mean that your future can’t be better. Like, there’s gonna be services out there. There’s gonna be supports.
It’s hard to feel like you can reach out. It can feel pretty daunting at times and feel scary. But honestly, the first step to really, like, it’s honestly such a – it’s an empowering moment to be able to step up and say, I need some support, I need some help. Because, like, every young person is capable of it. Like, if I grew up getting in fights at school, getting in trouble all the time, I was actually one step away from juvie, and I was like, no, I’ve got too many goals. Like, so you can definitely, like, every young person is capable of so much more than they think, and their past does not define it. So.
Journalist:
Yeah, that’s awesome. Thank you.
KD:
That was so good.
O’Neil:
Okay, KD, thank you so much.
KD:
No, thank you. I appreciate it.
O’Neil:
Amazing. So, you can step to the side. And if you don’t want to be on TV while we talk about other things.
KD:
Am I allowed to?
O’Neil:
So, what we’ll do is now just return to the normal press conference. So, Dave, if you’d like to welcome us, and then I’ll say a few – Josh will say a few things.
David Smith:
Well, KD, you’re a hard act to follow. That’s fair to say. And look, welcome to Clare, Josh, and my good friend Chris Steele. It’s actually such a privilege actually being here during the construction, the opening, and now the operation, seeing the transformative effect of Woden Youth Foyer. And Woden Youth Foyer does extraordinary things, but fundamentally, it rebuilds lives and builds futures. It provides a safe place to reconnect vulnerable young people with education and community. And the demand here is almost full. But you can’t do that without partnerships, and the partnership between the Australian Government, the ACT Government, with our Marymead Catholic Care, the Brotherhood of St. Laurence, CIT, and of course, the amazing Foyer Foundation and magnificent advocates like you, KD. That’s what makes this happen. And we’ve got some exciting announcements to make today on projects that can be as transformative as this. And without further ado, I’ll pass over to my good friend Josh Burns, the Special Envoy.
Josh Burns:
Dave, well done. Well, Woden is up and coming, and it’s so great to have this Youth Foyer here. KD, you are a star. And one of the things that KD said was the sort of turning point in KD’s life of coming to a Foyer. Because the young people who want a Foyer, or want to come into a Foyer, they want to move on with their life. They want to be able to find that education or that employment that they don’t have currently, and yet they also don’t have a home. And at that moment in a young person’s life where they’re looking for education, or they’re looking for employment, and they just don’t have the stability to live their life, surely in that moment, we can all be there. And surely in that moment, the support that turned KD’s life around is so important. That’s what Youth Foyers do, that’s what so many other youth housing options do right around the country.
But we know, and the Minister has been working so hard on this, is there’s just not enough options around the country. And that’s what today is all about: investing in more, making sure that there are more places, more opportunities, more ways for young people – incredible and inspiring young people like KD who have turned their life around just with a single thing, an opportunity – with a safe place to live. And that’s what this is all about. We couldn’t be prouder, proud of you. And we’ve got a lot of work to do to make sure there’s lots more places around the country. I’ll hand over to the Minister.
O’Neil:
Great. Thank you. Thank you so much, Josh. And again, KD, thank you so much for being willing to share your story with us. And you are just a massive inspiration to every person who is here. We are so proud of what you’ve done. To have the start that you were given in life and to be able to stand in front of the Australian media and talk about hope and optimism and your goals and your future, it is incredible to me. You are an amazing, outstanding young person. And meeting you, absolute highlight of my week. And it is the highlight of my job as Housing Minister to meet young people like KD. There are many of them. These kids have been through some of the worst experiences you could imagine. But if we give them a stable foundation, they can rebuild their lives. They are strong and resilient, and that’s why our government is investing in them. Today we’re announcing a $300 million investment in building homes for young people who are at risk of homelessness. This is going to support 13,000 young Australians who desperately need stability and a fresh start.
Most of the children who I meet who are at risk of homelessness have been through horrific experiences. Most have experienced some type of domestic violence or abuse. But what we find is that when we give these young people a stable foundation, they are tough, they are resilient, and they can rebuild. They are the best investment that an Australian Government could make. And we’re proud to be here today announcing hundreds of millions of dollars for new homes for people just like KD. I’ll ask Chris to talk a little bit, and then we’ll go to questions.
Chris Steel:
This is the first time I’ve actually visited the Youth Foyer here at Woden. I was previously responsible for the broader CIT Woden project, and what the project is about is providing younger people with opportunities through vocational education and training. But in order to make sure that outcomes in our training sector and in our schools are successful ones – housing is the foundation of that. The importance of having a safe place to live cannot be understated for young people’s future success. It is critical. And whilst every Youth Foyer is different, they all have similar ingredients, which is the support of wraparound services to support the young people to make sure that they can complete their training successfully.
This extra $300 million from the Federal Government is really welcome and will enable states and territories, community organisations and housing sector to be able to deliver more homes to support young people who need it most. The ACT Government is so grateful that we have the partnership of a Commonwealth Government that is actually interested in investing in new housing right across Australia, and here in the territory. We’ve collaborated on this project with a $10 million investment from the Federal Government, and we’re looking forward to delivering even more housing with this funding announced today.
O’Neil:
Thanks, Chris. And very much acknowledge that these investments can’t work without state and territory governments coming to the party and helping fund the operations of these incredible models. I want to shout out to Dan and Lisa, who are two fantastic workers who run the facility here. Stories like KD’s don’t just happen because we have good housing options. They happen because we’ve got dedicated, fantastic youth workers who help these young people reach their potential. And I acknowledge their work today. Okay, we’ll go to questions.
Journalist:
Yeah, great. So, we’ve had the ACTU this morning, just on housing, suggest that 1 in 10 houses, new houses, built in Australia should be public housing, as well as increasing rental, the standard rental agreements to two years rather than 12 months. Are those some suggestions that you’d consider?
O’Neil:
Well, the ACTU are fantastic contributors to our housing debate and they, with our government, absolutely believe that we’re making some good progress on housing and we’ve got a lot more work to do. Want to remind Australians that after nine years of the Commonwealth Government washing its hands of housing completely, our Prime Minister has actually stepped up and negotiated better rental standards for every single Australian renter, working with states and territories. We are interested in doing more work on this with states and territories, and these ideas from the ACTU will be in discussion as part of that.
Journalist:
Yesterday we saw NAB come out saying that rent could be rising by about 30 per cent. I know that those particular numbers were shot down, but now we’ve got Ray White coming out with the same estimation. So, should Australians be concerned around rent rises and what’s the government going to do? Because a lot of the criticism is that it’s your policies that are going to be contributing to that.
O’Neil:
Yeah. So, just coming to the numbers that you mentioned here, really important to be clear about this. The National Australia Bank issued a correction yesterday, being very clear that that was not a prediction of what’s going to happen to rents in our country. And I’d be really concerned if, just through discussion in the media, that somehow became part of the conversation. That is not what NAB was saying, and they clarified that yesterday in their statement.
I think the press gallery is quite well versed on the Treasury view about what will happen to rents because of the government’s tax changes, and that is that the effect on rents will be very, very small. Why is that the case? Because the government is implementing these essential reforms really carefully. We have grandfathered these arrangements. Every single person in our country who owned a property on Budget night is able to continue to get access to negative gearing. And if you want to get access to it after Budget night, you can get that too, as long as you build a new home for the country.
Now, we do have an issue with rising rents in Australia. In many respects, renters are the ones in our country who are bearing the brunt of 40 years of Australian Governments not doing enough about housing. That is why our government is stepping up with the boldest agenda since the Second World War. We’re building more homes for renters, we’re getting a better deal through improved rental standards, and we’re doing the thing that matters most of all to many renters around this country, and that is give them real opportunities for home ownership.
Journalist:
We’re also seeing, excuse me, the Wage Price Index come out later today. We’ve traditionally seen a fairly slow movement on wage price rises. What happens if rents, which is traditionally people’s largest expense, if that goes up faster than wages? How do you stop people from going backwards?
O’Neil:
Yeah. So, I’ll leave the specific commentary on the Wage Price Index to the Treasurer. What I can tell you is that rents have been going up too fast and too frequently in our country for a long time now. There are a lot of renters around our country living in a type of insecurity that I don’t think any Australian should have to put up with. And remember that they’re living that experience of feeling like home ownership is moving further and further away from them, even though they’re doing all the right things. That is why our government has the broadest agenda on housing a Commonwealth has had for 70 years. The fundamental reason, while rents have been going up too high and too frequently for a long time, is that we do not have enough rental homes in our country. We’ve got to build, build, build. And that’s why the majority of our government’s housing agenda is about building more homes for Australians. More homes means more affordable housing for Australians.
Journalist:
You mentioned insecurity there, that a lot of people are in this kind of rental insecurity.
O’Neil:
Yeah.
Journalist:
Would you be open to extending the standard rental agreements to something like two years?
O’Neil:
Look, the ACTU have come out with some really valuable suggestions today. They’re not government policy, but we certainly welcome them into a conversation about how we can improve the situation for Australian renters. Australian renters, in many ways, are bearing the brunt of 40 years of Australian Governments failing to address the problems in our housing system. Now, in 2022, we were elected. We’ve put in place since then the boldest ambitions on housing that we’ve had since the Second World War. But I absolutely recognise there is more for us to do. We are making a stack of progress here, but we need to keep moving because Australian renters are in a situation that I don’t want them to be in.
Journalist:
And just very quickly, on gambling, obviously that’s gotten across the line in parliament, but there’s a lot of criticism this morning that it doesn’t go far enough. What do you say to those critics?
O’Neil:
Look, I respect everyone who’s involved in this debate, and I think it’s really important to acknowledge that people with very good intentions can have quite different views about what to do about this issue facing the country. The Prime Minister and our fantastic Communications Minister, Anika Wells, have reached a really good balance here. It’s a balance that’s got bipartisan support across the parliament. These are the most ambitious gambling reforms that I think an Australian Government has ever undertaken, and I’m really proud of that.