AUGUST 8, 2017 \ STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
NEWS + SPORT + THE WEST’S BEST PROPERTY GUIDE
(Shawn Smits)
It’s not all elementary The action and intrigue of Sherlock Holmes has been combined with the seduction and wonder of an underground Berlin cabaret in Sunshine theatre company, wit incorporated’s latest production. A Scandal in The Weimar is the latest offering in the company’s commitment to creating a year of works by women. “This is not just about getting women on stage – it’s about making sure those women … are as diverse and as interesting as the women we see on the street,” co-writer Jennifer Piper said. “So our characters have differing cultural backgrounds, habits, sexualities and political views. They are flawed and human and so much more than whatever their tick-box on a census would be.” The show will be performed by Piper, Sarah Clarke, Emma Hayden, Kimberley Heberley, Tanya Hendy and Ebony McGuire. It has been co-written by Claire Bowen and directed by Belinda Campbell. It will be performed at Bluestone Church Arts Space, Footscray, from August 25 to September 9. Tickets: $25. Details: hello@witinc.com.au JENNIFER PIPER, EMMA HAYDEN AND EBONY McGUIRE
Stella Tzobanakis
‘Grim’ outlook on rentals By Stella Tzobanakis Only one in five Brimbank residents can afford to rent privately in the municipality. The startling statistic has been revealed by the Council to Homelessness Persons (CHP) as part of Homelessness Week. The peak body for homelessness in Victoria said that at March this year, 19 per cent of private rental properties were considered affordable, which is defined as when rent consumes 30 per cent or less of incomes. At March 2007, 73 per cent of private rental in Brimbank was considered to be affordable. The figures make Brimbank the least affordable private rental local government area in the inner west and the fourth least affordable in Victoria. 12360661-PB32-17
CHP spokesperson Kate Colvin said the figures represented a housing affordability crisis for low-income earners. “It’s a grim situation for low-income earners, who find that there is nowhere to escape high rents, and that there’s not enough social housing to prevent them becoming homeless,” Ms Colvin said. “Moving further out is no longer the silver bullet to reducing rent stress. “Our housing system is failing the most vulnerable and the result is rising homelessness. “Victoria’s public housing levels are the lowest in history and 35,000 people are waiting for social housing.” Ms Colvin said that while the state government announced plans to deliver 6000
new social housing properties over five years in its 2017-18 budget, given the scale of the problem federal government action was needed. “Providing housing that people can afford is the single most important way to reduce homelessness,” she said. “The private market is simply failing to do that. We need federal government action to prevent thousands of households living in rent stress or being pushed into homelessness.” Western Homelessness Network co-ordinator Sarah Langmore said that in Sunshine alone, there was a daily queue of up to 50 people outside The Salvation Army Social Housing and Support Network (SASHS) in need of housing and social support. “People are queuing up because they are
homeless and are hoping SASHS will be able to assist them to find accommodation,” Ms Langmore said. She said those in need were almost all on low-incomes, with 30 per cent experiencing homelessness due to family violence. Many were unemployed. Ages ranged from 25 to 40. Most families were single-parent families. Ms Langmore said SASHS relied on “cheap hotels, caravan parks and private hostels” as accommodation options for those in crisis because of a lack of housing options in Brimbank. She said there were about 4000 households awaiting homelessness assistance across Melbourne’s north and west.