The new UK PM made a brave pledge. Our PM should follow suit

July 21, 2026 — 7:30pm

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Governments are often loath to set public policy targets. Miss them and you’ll spend years being reminded of it. Who can forget Bob Hawke’s “by 1990 no Australian child will be living in poverty” pledge, or Kevin Rudd’s promise during the 2007 election campaign to halve homelessness and offer supported accommodation to all rough sleepers by 2020?

Miss your target and then you become one … for endless snarks from opponents and advocates keen to remind you of your failure. What, then, do we make of Andy Burnham, Britain’s new prime minister, pledging to end rough sleeping as his first announcement in office?

People are used to disappointment when it comes to political promises, but for most of us working in homelessness and homeless health half a world away, Burnham’s pledge is exhilarating.

Australia’s rough sleeping problem may not be on the same scale as Britain’s but there’s no question it’s getting worse. And while our governments – federal, state and territory – are committed to an enormous program of........

© The Age