ELEANOR HALL: Almost two decades ago, a report by the then Human Rights Commissioner, Brian Burdekin, shocked Australia.

His report Our Homeless Children highlighted the plight of an estimated 20-thousand young people living on the streets in the late 1980s.

But today, despite substantial economic growth, the situation has not improved.

And Professor Burdekin has now launched an independent inquiry to find out why.

Barbara Miller has our report.

BARBARA MILLER: It was 1989. Official interest rates were at 18 per cent, unemployment was at a record 11 per cent, the country was careering into recession, and 20,000 young people were homeless.

Paul Moulds, now Director of the Salvation Army Oasis Youth Support network was a youth worker at the time.

He remembers the positive feeling that Brian Burdekin's report and call for action injected into that climate.

PAUL MOULDS: At last it won't be so easy to dismiss the concerns we have as exaggerated claims or alarmist.

At last there's hope that somebody will listen and do something. It was a good time to be a youth worker. There was hope, and there was optimism that things could change.

BARBARA MILLER: But 20 years on there are still around 20,000 young people in Australia who don't have a safe place to call home, prompting the launch of the National Youth Commission Inquiry into Youth Homelessness.

It's funded by the Caledonia Foundation and chaired by the former head of the Prime Minister's Youth Homelessness Taskforce Major David Eldridge.

And it's been launched today by Brian Burdekin, who says he's shocked whenever he returns to Australia from the developing world.

BRIAN BURDEKIN: I look at a country where Western Australia and Queensland alone I think, have got more resources than 70 or 80 of the poorest countries in the world, many of which I'm working in.

And there is absolutely no excuse for us to be in a situation where we can talk about national policies on water and that's important and national policies on the environment and that's important, but we can't talk about some sort of co-ordinated and effective national policy for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged and marginalised people in our own community.

BARBARA MILLER: The Federal Opposition's spokeswoman on youth Tanya Plibersek agrees that not enough is being spent on tackling youth homelessness.

TANYA PLIBERSEK: The government's own figures said that there should have been a 15 per cent increase in funding for emergency accommodation just to keep existing services open.

In fact what was needed was a 40 per cent increase in funding for emergency accommodation to make any impact on the unmet demand for emergency accommodation.

Instead, the government have actually let funding in this area completely stagnate.

BARBARA MILLER: The government says it welcomes the new Commission and looks forward to its findings, but denies not enough is being done at present.

Nigel Scullion is the Federal Minister for Community Services.

NIGEL SCULLION: The national homelessness strategy that we announced in 2005 actually has a budget fund of $10 million over the next four years.

We have a whole range of demonstration projects which are going to trial some of the innovative models that have been suggested by a whole range of people throughout the community.

And I would certainly refute that we're not doing anything for youth homelessness, it's simply not true.

BARBARA MILLER: This initiative is aimed at ensuring more people get the kind of help afforded 21 year-old Daniel.

He left the Whitsundays four years ago following the death of his mother, and ended up in a life of crime on the streets of Sydney.

He counts himself lucky as having found support and shelter through the Salvation Army's Oasis Youth Support Network.

DANIEL: Before no one had time for you when you were on the streets and when you come here, everyone's really nice to you and they just want to help you and that.

BARBARA MILLER: It seems like you got the help that you needed or you wanted so was your concern that there's other people out there and there's not enough places for them, or why do you think more needs to be done?

DANIEL: Yeah, because there's always people getting turned down because there's not enough beds, so they just go back to resorting to crime.

ELEANOR HALL: 21 year-old Daniel ending that report by Barbara Miller.