Metres from millionaires row,homelessness crisis worsens on Mornington Peninsula

A short drive from some of Victoria’s most expensive seaside real estate on the Mornington Peninsula there are rough sleepers staying long term in tents in the foreshore campgrounds.

Homelessness has become so dire on the peninsula that the council has allowed some rough sleepers to move into the camping grounds that are often prized summer holiday spots. But many more are couch-surfing,sleeping in cars or living in rooming houses.

Rosebud’s popular foreshore campgrounds are now home to rough sleepers as the Mornington Peninsula’s homelessness crisis worsens.

Rosebud’s popular foreshore campgrounds are now home to rough sleepers as the Mornington Peninsula’s homelessness crisis worsens.Craig Sillitoe

Ben Smith,manager of the Mornington Community,Information and Support Centre,says the growing use of its free shower service is another sign that homelessness is rising in the area.

On weekdays,the centre gives away more than 100 loaves of bread to people who cannot afford daily necessities.

More than 1500 people a month use the centre for food,free clothes and help to pay for fuel and utilities.

“We’ve got some of the wealthiest suburbs in Australia and some of the hardest-hit families financially as well,” he said.

Mornington Community,Information and Support Centre manager Ben Smith says homelessness is reaching crisis levels on the peninsula.

Mornington Community,Information and Support Centre manager Ben Smith says homelessness is reaching crisis levels on the peninsula.Simon Schluter

Local welfare groups say hidden homelessness and poverty are reaching crisis levels,but this is often overshadowed by the region’s reputation as an affluent coastal destination just beyond Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs.

The Salvation Army’sSocial Justice Stocktake report released last year showed an estimated 2600 people were experiencing homelessness in the federal Flinders electorate,which covers the Mornington Peninsula,with a social housing shortage of 300 homes.

Smith said soaring rents and house prices were the biggest causes of homelessness in the region,with landlords often raising rents to make the most of their investments,particularly after buying a new property.

“What we’re seeing is people are being forced to move not because of poor behaviour but because of an end of lease or increase in rent.”

“We’ve got some of the wealthiest suburbs in Australia and some of the hardest-hit families financially as well.”

Ben Smith,Mornington Community Centre

Salvation Army’s Mornington Peninsula homelessness manager Loretta Buckley said the thin strips of bush along the Rosebud foreshore conceal a rough sleeping population that can go unnoticed.

“If you’re a local,you know that area. You know where it is safe and where to go,” she said.

Buckley said the absence of crisis accommodation on the peninsula meant clients had to relinquish their links to local support networks if they wanted to take up the closest option in Dandenong.

She said rooming houses were not suitable for many of the Salvation Army’s clients if they struggled with mental health or other health conditions.

House prices have risen rapidly on the Mornington Peninsula.

House prices have risen rapidly on the Mornington Peninsula.iStock

Figures from SQM Research show the latest residential vacancy rate on the Mornington Peninsula fell to just 0.9 per cent in April this year. But many of those who have secured rental properties are struggling to meet the costs.

Data released by the Everybody’s Home campaign,an alliance of housing,homelessness and welfare groups,showed 51 per cent of renters in the Flinders electorate were suffering financial stress – one of the highest levels in Victoria.

Campaign spokeswoman Kate Colvin said the high rental prices were one consequence of the sea change rush on the peninsula,which has made buying or renting a home even more unattainable for low and middle income earners.

“There’s been a surge in demand for rental on the Mornington Peninsula from people trying to escape the lockdowns,” she said.

Colvin welcomed recent commitments from the state and federal governments to build social housing,but said more was desperately needed.

Real Estate Institute of Victoria data shows the median house price in Mount Martha has reached $2 million,increasing 10.2 per cent in the March quarter. The median rent in that suburb is $785 a week,compared with $485 in Melbourne.

In Rye,the median price increased by 18 per cent in the March quarter,hitting $1.3 million,while the median weekly rent was $520.

In the traditionally more affordable suburb of Rosebud,the median house price decreased by 3.7per cent over that period but was still $905,000,while the median rent was $450.

This year the Mornington Community Information and Support Centre opened a cafe run by volunteers that serves coffee,tea and lunch for up to 55 people a day. Customers pay whatever they can and for many,that’s nothing at all.

Mornington residents Melinda Joargenson and Susan Hollis.

Mornington residents Melinda Joargenson and Susan Hollis.Simon Schluter

Melinda Joargenson has lived in public housing in Mornington for almost 17 years,but still relies on the community centre for groceries and meals as the rising cost of living pushes everyday goods beyond the reach of low-income earners.

“If it wasn’t for this place we’d be pretty much screwed,” she said of the community centre.

Her friend,Susan Hollis,a long-term peninsula resident who also lives in public housing,said private rentals often started at $320 a week in Mornington.

“It makes me think about the fact that I’ll never own a house,” she said. “The price of housing is just astronomical now. Everything goes up,but our income stays the same.”

Hollis said rising petrol prices had the biggest impact on her budget.

Mornington Peninsula Shire councillor Antonella Celi,who sits on the council’s housing committee,said short-stay accommodation and Airbnb were denying long-term rental properties to permanent residents.

She said there were 2650 short-stay properties registered with the council,but acknowledged there would be more off the books.

“When it goes quiet during the winter the owners will put the houses back on the rental market but come peak season in summer the tenants are asked to vacate.”

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Benjamin Preiss is The Age's regional editor. He was previously state rounds reporter and has also covered education for The Age.

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