<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The death of a baby in a makeshift homeless camp in regional </span><a href="http://www.9news.com.au/new-south-wales" rel="" target="" title="New South Wales"><span>New South Wales</span></a><span> is being mourned as a devastating and unacceptable tragedy by Australia's peak </span><a href="http://www.9news.com.au/homelessness" rel="" target="" title="homelessness"><span>homelessness</span></a><span> body.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The mother and two infants had been </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/baby-found-dead-wagga-wagga-riverside-campsite-council-riverina-death/6932e1d1-16d2-4e3d-959a-c229613a1ae5" rel="" target="_blank" title="living in a campsite with other rough sleepers"><span>living in a campsite with other rough sleepers</span></a><span> on the Murrumbidgee River in Wagga Wagga before police were called on Saturday afternoon to find one of the babies had died.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The 37-year-old woman and surviving infant were taken to hospital.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/ballina-boating-accident-three-dead-search-under-way-after-northern-nsw-boating-tragedy/974d7967-1138-4fdb-8b99-f8bc374c4a43"><strong><span>Search halted after triple fatal NSW maritime rescue</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The uncomfortable truth is that tragedies like this don't come out of nowhere," Homelessness Australia chief executive Kate Colvin said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"They are the result of a housing system that has broken to the point that there is no safe housing or adequate support available, even for a mother with a newborn baby."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>NSW Housing and Homelessness Minister Rose Jackson yesterday said there would be a full investigation into the family's circumstances but said Homes NSW had been in contact with the family over some years.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/homelessness-charity-reacts-to-baby-death-wagga-wagga-new-south-wales-housing-news/5a80044f-3d16-409e-aa6b-3ddb449cea02" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>According to the NSW Department of Communities and Justice, more than 700 people were waiting for social housing in Wagga Wagga as of June 30, 2025.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Of those, 102 were listed as priority applicants.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The expected wait time for social housing in the city is between five to 10 years, for all types of dwellings.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Across the state, there are more than 68,000 households on the social housing waiting list.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It is completely unacceptable a family that has welcomed a new baby cannot immediately access a home, but rentals are unaffordable and social housing is unavailable," Colvin said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"People in desperate need miss out every day because there is not enough social housing or homelessness support."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Short-term and crisis accommodation services are similarly unable to cope with demand, Colvin said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This has been building for years," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"What it calls for now is not just grief, but resolve.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Resolve to make sure families have somewhere safe to go before things reach this point, and that when people need help, they can get it early, not only once everything has already been lost."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Without change, she said there would likely be more "heartbreaking, avoidable" tragedies.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The latest Specialist Homelessness Services annual report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare found one in three individuals or families who reach out needing short-term or emergency accommodation do not get their needs met.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>This means they're neither provided with accommodation nor referred on to other services.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><em><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></em></strong><span> </span><strong><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 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