“Things are tough out there, we know they’re tough, they’ve been getting tough for some time,” Loddon Mallee Housing Services chief executive officer Ken Marchingo said.

“It’s a result of a huge collision of many factors . . . but what we are seeing are some very strong responses from Government,” he said.

Mr Marchingo’s comments came as state shadow minister for housing Wendy Lovell accused the Government of ignoring the growing crisis.

“The Brumby Government’s waiting list for public housing has exploded to a seven-year high, with 38,980 families now languishing on the Government’s statewide public housing waiting list,” she said.

“The ever-increasing waiting list highlights the Brumby Government’s failure to deliver effective affordable housing policies over the past 10 years.

“The waiting list for public housing in Bendigo increased by 50 families in the March 2009 quarter, taking the waiting list to 785 applicants,” she added.

While not disputing the figures, Mr Marchingo defended the Government’s attempts to rectify what he described as a generation of Federal Government inactivity.

“You don’t get an affordable housing crisis overnight in this country,” he said.

“We’ve also got a global financial crisis which has turned into a worldwide recession . . . there is no denying the fact that jobs are falling away and unemployment is rising.

“When that happens you will always find public housing waiting lists rise,” he added.

Mr Marchingo applauded the Federal Government’s recent economic stimulus package, which aimed to create about 5000 new resident housing units.

“Right now as we speak, Victoria . . . is embarking on the greatest residential development program that this state has ever seen,” he said.

“Things are dire, things are grim, but it’s not all bad news. There’s plenty of action out there.”