Victorian worker makes plea to housing inquiry while living in tentBy Eden HynninenABC BallaratTopic:Homelessness38m ago38 minutes agoFri 9 May 2025 at 9:52pmAnthony Rowse is sleeping in a tent with his three-year-old dog, Ghost. (ABC News: Eden Hynninen)In short:A parliamentary inquiry into Victoria's housing supply has heard about the impacts of working homelessness in regional areas. The committee is looking at the methods of building homes and the mix of housing forms and types in regional Victoria.The inquiry has received 111 written submissions and travelled to three regional locations for in-person submissions. abc.net.au/news/homeless-youth-calls-for-better-access-to-housing-during-inquiry/105269810Link copiedShareShare articleAnthony Rowse loves the feeling of working with his hands.The 25-year-old spends his days making skip bins for trailers and harvesting equipment near Ballarat in Victoria's west.But that sense of achievement can quickly evaporate when he goes back to Lake Burumbeet and prepares for a cold night in his tent."The other night I caught a rat making its way into the tent," Mr Rowse said.Mr Rowse said his best mate, Ghost, a three-year-old husky-ridgeback cross, was his only companion."I caught it [the rat] but Ghost wanted to play with it and she let it go," he said."I found it hiding in one of my cups trying to stay warm."Ghost rests in Mr Rowse's tent. (Supplied: Anthony Rowse)Facing homelessnessMr Rowse spent most of his adult life living in his family home in Ballarat, an hour and a half north-west of Melbourne.But he faced housing instability for the first time after the death of his mother and the end of a long-term relationship.Mr Rowse took advice from a coworker and began camping at the lake.He has been there on and off for the past couple of years, despite efforts to secure more permanent housing."I'm just getting knocked back and back," he said."They say I've got no rental history. And it's expensive."I'd love a house."Long-term camping grounds are becoming a place to call "home" for an increasing number of the homeless.One homelessness worker told the ABC he had seen a "200 per cent increase" in temporary residents at camping spots across the state.Answers soughtA state government parliamentary inquiry is underway across regional Victoria seeking input on ways to address the country's housing and homelessness crisis.Members have asked where the most urgent need for housing is, the workforce challenges in constructing homes and the need for accommodation for regional workers in key sectors.Damian Stock says the gap between rental prices and income has increased. (Supplied)Damian Stock, chief executive of ARC Justice, a service that provides legal help and tenancy advocacy support to people in Central and Northern Victoria, told the inquiry the gap between rental prices and income had increased significantly in regional Victoria."It's the worst it's ever been," Mr Stock told the inquiry during a hearing in Ballarat.He discussed the need for tax incentives for investors who provided long-term rentals and investment in crisis, transitional and social housing."Victoria has the lowest rate of investing in social housing in Australia," he said."There's a real role for the government to directly invest in public housing … it's been a decline over the past three decades of any investments directly into public housing."'Bursting at the seams'The state government released an ambitious target in 2024 to create 2.2 million new homes by 2051, 47,000 of which would be in Ballarat.Committee member Martha Haylett, the Labor MP for Ripon, said developers were concerned about meeting those targets."There's worry that our Victorian government targets about how much we need to build in our more populated areas, like central Ballarat, versus out in paddocks where there is nothing," Ms Haylett said.In 2020, western Victorian company AME Systems bought a hotel in Ararat in a last-ditch effort to fill a chronic labour and housing shortage.The company is still struggling to find worker accommodation.Martha Haylett says there are concerns about meeting housing targets. (ABC Central Victoria: Sarah Lawrence)Bauenort Management director, Anton Pound, has developed large-scale sites in Ballarat over the past decade.He told the inquiry he had built about 90 per cent of homes on greenfield sites, including the established areas of Ballarat.Mr Pound told the inquiry the government's target to boost Ballarat's infill developments to 60 per cent was not achievable."It's a Melbourne based policy that is being pushed into the regions, when the dynamics around housing and the reasons for moving to regional Victoria are not the same," he said.Mr Pound said he supported a transition, but it needed to be slow."It's too big a step," he said."In the meantime we just need to find a way to house these people."Need for urgencyAda Watson is an outreach worker who checks in with Anthony Rowse on a weekly basis, providing him with vouchers, food and support.She said something needed to be done."I'd love to see a huge stockpile of achievable and affordable housing without it being so hard for people to get a home," Ms Watson said.She said she had seen a rise in the number of families sleeping rough."Mums with kids or mums and dads with kids … sometimes I jump into bed at night and think about it," she said.Ada Watson hopes for a better future for vulnerable people. (ABC Ballarat: Rochelle Kirkham)If there's no houses for them to move into, we just have to come out and give food to make life a little easier for them."Mr Rowse said there needed to be more homes available for those sleeping rough."You've got a warm home, safe at night, no animals coming in, you've got a place where you actually belong, a place that feels like home," he said.ABC Ballarat — local news in your inboxGet our local newsletter, delivered free each WednesdayYour information is being handled in accordance with the ABC Privacy Collection Statement.Email addressSubscribePosted 38m ago38 minutes agoFri 9 May 2025 at 9:52pmShare optionsCopy linkFacebookX (formerly Twitter)Top Stories'Third party' vote looks set to beat CoalitionTopic:ElectionsPhoto shows A triangular chart showing an example of some electorates shifting from LNP to 'Other candidates' at the 2025 federal election'We've hit the lottery': Businesses cash in on Labor's home battery rebateTopic:Energy IndustryPhoto shows A man with a t-shirt, hat and sunglasses on top of his head smiles at camera.Labor win turns sour as the bloody realpolitik takes centre stageLAnalysis by Laura TinglePhoto shows Two men in orange hi vis vest, with one holding up a dollar coinIndia's retaliation to terror attacks reflects a changed strategy. 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