Housing
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Matters of life and death: The other housing issue for low income renters
A Ministry of Housing property sold privately because it required a lot of work and money to bring it up to standard. The gas meter had been removed, as the property was sold as uninhabitable. The new owner rented it out in that condition. The middle aged man who rented it had no hot water, Continue reading »
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As high-rise developments boom, overhaul of strata committees of management long overdue
Owner corporations have recently come under attack for their dodgy practices. An overhaul of strata committees of management is also long overdue. Continue reading »
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If we can’t have vision, let’s have boldness and strength of purpose
One should never feel sympathy for a politician caught in a rule-in rule-out game. Perhaps the period should be after the eighth word, but there is something spectacularly dumb about foreclosing on policy options even when they are not under active contemplation, narrowing the range of debate and allowing its terms to be set by Continue reading »
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Inflation is the ‘godsend of capitalism’
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) attempts to corral inflation into narrow limits and stabilise the national economy. But as inflation becomes increasingly intractable we must ask, do market-dominant companies employ inflation to reset their profit margins ever higher? Continue reading »
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A five-minute scroll
Pulling children out of rubble, witnessing ill-treatment of Palestinian civilians by Israeli soldiers, witnessing the displaced Gazan population work its way through destroyed streets. In Australia, the Senate debate on housing. These are the items we found on our five-minute scroll on X. Continue reading »
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Was the housing crisis caused by government policy?
A crisis in house prices and availability has been raging for years, particularly the dearth of low cost housing to rent, or buy. Is this housing crisis really a result of market forces, or is it created by previous government tax policies? [read more] Continue reading »
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The contested politics of housing reform
While most Australians remain well-housed, few public policy experts would argue that our housing system is today in good shape. Homelessness continues to increase and both rental and mortgage affordability stress are widespread. Continue reading »
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Legislating for homelessness
“To be good citizens means owning your own home. If you don’t, you’ve failed in some way” – Sophia Maalsen, University of Sydney. Continue reading »
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Half hearted housing policies ignore key role of public housing: Michael Pascoe
The housing crisis will not be solved for those who are suffering the most by the mish mash of half hearted, small steps, and policy responses currently favoured by governments. They lack the courage to commit to direct government intervention on a sufficient scale in the failed housing market in the form of publicly funded, Continue reading »
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Canberra bureaucrats commissioning NT houses unfit for purpose
Labor’s $4 billion for Indigenous housing in the Northern Territory is set for failure unless it incorporates Aboriginal expertise. Continue reading »
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Developer oriented development only worsens the housing crisis
A lobby group representing the $600 billion property industry is determining state housing policy in NSW. Continue reading »
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Wall Street’s corporate landlords lack accountability in Australia
Inches upon inches of press releases have heralded how Build to Rent (BTR) is coming to Australia to provide affordable and stable rentals. However, the draft legislation released by Minister Collins contains precious little for public interest outcomes. Continue reading »
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Housing affordability and equality: part 2
Yesterday, Part 1 of this article discussed the decline in housing affordability and the consequent increase in wealth inequality. Today, Part 2 will discuss possible policies to restore housing affordability in the interests of a more equal and cohesive society. Continue reading »
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Strategic response to Australia’s housing problems long overdue
In just four years since the advent of COVID-19, Australia’s house prices have climbed by a dizzying 50%. Defying orthodox expectations that property inflation would be quelled by rising interest rates, that upward trend has continued even since the RBA’s monetary tightening phase began in mid-2022, with prices up by 12% in that period alone. Continue reading »
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Australian housing crisis: We need a Ben Chifley
Having a comfortable place to live is a human right. It is enshrined in Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which Australia has signed. But it is clear from today’s housing crisis Australia has lost its way. Continue reading »
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The Great Lismore Flood: Revisiting the use of floodplains
Last week saw the release of the NSW State Disaster Mitigation Plan which outlines a blueprint for managing future disasters; this week marks the second anniversary of the great flood at Lismore and places downstream in the Richmond River valley. This is a moment to ask how we are going in NSW as far as Continue reading »
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We can’t rely on developers to fix the housing crisis
If you were running the state suffering the very worst of Australia’s housing disaster, a state where the number of public and community housing dwellings actually went backwards last financial year, you might want to grab any and every opportunity to ease the crisis – but you’re not running New South Wales. Continue reading »
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For all the talk, public and social housing just got worse
The Productivity Commission has released a damning report on Australia’s worsening public and community housing disaster. Continue reading »
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Want to solve Australia’s housing crisis? Look to Vienna
What do you think of when you think of Vienna? Probably not a model for affordable housing in Australia. Continue reading »
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Weighing the significance of Labor’s social housing investment fund
After more than six months of Parliamentary wrangling, the ALP’s flagship housing future fund bill finally cleared the Senate last week. For Australia’s neglected social housing sector, this presages a welcome revival of federally-supported capital investment, absent for most of the past quarter century. But, in a longer-term perspective, the resulting program will be significant Continue reading »
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Embedding indigenous advice in government policy key to real change
In discussions of the upcoming referendum on establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, a question often raised is how will it make a difference? This has been difficult for advocates to address because instances of governments’ empowering our First Nations peoples are few and far between. Continue reading »
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National Cabinet’s new housing plan could fix our rental crisis and save renters billions
Wednesday’s National Cabinet meeting set itself a huge task: to fix Australia’s rental crisis. Thankfully, given rents are rising at their fastest rate in decades, the plan it produced just might do the trick. Continue reading »
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Labor offers new help for renters and first homebuyers, but PM must aim higher
Along with a new scheme for first home buyer assistance, Federally-led rental reform is now on the PM’s agenda. But this week’s National Cabinet and Party Conference housing announcements need to be integrated into a coherent and ambitious long-term strategy. Continue reading »
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Housing crisis, what housing crisis?
Newspapers decry it; yet market-led inflation more broadly is tut-tutted away as a ‘sacred mystery’ central to a free and working capitalist system. Government mandated inflation however, which society must pay to maintain a balanced economy, does not please anyone. Continue reading »
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Careful what you wish for: Why a double dissolution over housing could spell trouble for the Greens
They can’t say they weren’t warned. Shortly before coming to office Anthony Albanese said, ‘I’ve been underestimated my whole life’. Continue reading »
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The budget left the homeless, homeless
The housing problem is huge and complex but the plight of the homeless is growing and must be addressed urgently. To solve the problem, what are the practicalities of manufactured housing and their financing? Continue reading »
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High stakes debate on Albanese Government’s social and affordable housing plans
The Albanese Government’s flagship housing legislation has stalled in the Senate, with the PM alarmingly flagging a risk that the package might be abandoned until the next election. Continue reading »
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Please sir I want some more. The case for needs-based funding for the Northern Territory
When unpacking the way in which national funds for front line services such as homelessness are handed out, arguably little has changed for modern day Darwin since the garrison town was bombed in 1942. Continue reading »
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The one hope for peace in the West Bank
Last Thursday, the Australian government condemned Israel for planting more settlements on the occupied West Bank: 10,000 extra units. It’s a big step to criticise Israel because in Australia its organised friends are a powerful lobby. But this was a huge breach of international law. And, as Penny Wong pointed out, a deliberate blow to Continue reading »
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The impact of the housing crisis on the mental and physical health of children
In Australia, we pride ourselves on our egalitarianism, yet now cannot even provide security of accommodation for everyone. How can this be, when older women who have lost their financial security from family break-up and illness, and even young women with small children, end up couch-surfing or sleeping in a car? Continue reading »