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Housing News Digest
Housing News Digest
The Tenants' Union Housing News Digest compiles our pick of items from all the latest tenancy and housing media, sent once per week, on Thursdays.
Below is the Digest archive from November 2020 onwards. From time to time you will find additional items in the archive that did not make it into the weekly Digest email. Earlier archives are here, where you can also find additional digests by other organisations.
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Archive
Australia is building a million new homes — but we may not want to live in them
Charis Chang SBS (No paywall)When Stacey (not her real name) and her husband returned to Australia after living overseas, her search for a family home took years, even though she was willing to make concessions others weren't. The 45-year-old, who did not want to be identified, quickly realised that buying a house within a reasonable distance from Sydney's city centre would cost her more than $2 million. She quickly adjusted her expectations and started considering three-bedroom units instead, but said there were "limited options". "What is available isn't really geared towards families," she told SBS News. Stacey, who has a primary-school-aged child, said it was frustrating to find floor plans, especially in newer developments, often didn't feature a reasonably sized dining area or family room to have people over, or for the family to watch TV together.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/the-housing-problem-that-gov…
# Hot topic Australia, .Housing tower residents given more time to reframe case
Tara Cosoleto 9 News (No paywall)A judge has given public housing tower residents more time to reframe their case against the Victorian government. Resident Barry Berih launched the class action earlier this year, arguing the government went against legislation when it decided to demolish the Melbourne high-rise towers. All 44 of the city's public housing towers are set to be redeveloped by 2051, with five in Flemington, North Melbourne and Carlton expected to be replaced by 2031. The project was a key pillar of the Victorian government's housing statement unveiled in September and would lead to the relocation of more than 10,000 residents.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/housing-tower-residents-given-…
# Must read Australia, Public and community housing.The housing crisis hit Queensland hard. Jolted into action, the state has raised its game
Hal Pawson The Conversation (No paywall)Post-COVID housing stress has been especially intense in Queensland. Brisbane property prices have climbed by 65% since the pandemic began. That’s almost double the Australian capital city average (34%). According to new data released by CoreLogic this week, Brisbane now has the second-most expensive housing in the country, behind Sydney. Prices rose by 1.4% in May, with the median property price hitting $843,231. Across the state, new tenancy rents are up by 45% in just four years. Adjusted for inflation, that’s a 23% increase in real terms, much more than the growth in incomes over that time. Without doubt, rising accommodation costs are inflicting financial pain on many in the Sunshine State.
https://theconversation.com/the-housing-crisis-hit-queensland-ha…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent.The 'crushing' effect of the rental crisis on our mental health and sense of self
Anna Salleh and Sana Qadar, with Rose Kerr ABC (No paywall)It's a brisk Perth autumn morning and 26-year-old Madi is sitting in a courtyard in her pyjamas cradling a warm cup of coffee. She can see a grey sky through the branches of the trees as they sway in the wind. Madi's up early for a phone interview with ABC RN's All in the Mind, and she's outside because she doesn't want to wake up the rest of the house. She recently moved in with her partner's family, and although she's grateful to have a roof over her head, the situation is far from ideal. "As accommodating as everyone is, and as loving and caring as everyone is, you just feel like you're stepping on someone's territory and invading their space."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2024-06-04/rental-housing-cri…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent.Budget 2024: NSW adopts holistic focus for First Nations policies
Melissa Coade The Mandarin (No paywall)Any policy for funding and investment that impacts First Nations communities in New South Wales will be subject to a new budget model that aims to take a community-led approach to the assessment, evidence and reporting of government decisions. Together with its First Nations budget model, NSW boasts being the only jurisdiction to regularly report data on Indigenous expenditure. A total of 34.5% of Australia’s First Nations people live in NSW, comprising about 4.2% (approximately 340,000 people) of the state’s overall population. In the 2023-24 budget, 1% ($1.2 billion) of total NSW government expenditure was invested in First Nations specific programs and services.
https://www.themandarin.com.au/247623-budget-2024-nsw-adopts-hol…
# Must read, New policy announcement NSW, Aboriginal renters.Two broken gas meters in seven months before deadly Sydney house explosion at Whalan
Tamsin Rose The Guardian (No paywall)The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, has indicated there could be more money on the way for social housing stock and repairs in this month’s budget after a woman died when a townhouse with a history of suspected gas leaks in Sydney’s west exploded. Mhey Yumol Jasmin’s body was found in the rubble on Monday morning after two days of searching at the Whalan social housing complex, where two gas meters were found to be damaged in recent months. The housing minister, Rose Jackson, has vowed to closely monitor the department investigation into the incident after being made aware of reports that residents living in the townhouse complex had “raised the issue of the smell of gas within the last 12 months”.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/jun/03/w…
# Must read NSW, Disasters, Public and community housing.Northern Rivers homeless struggle after floods with lack of affordable housing, cost-of-living crisis
Joanne Shoebridge ABC (No paywall)A pair of black shoes stands upright against the wall of a public toilet block, drying in the sun. Nearby, a swag and three tents just fit under an open-sided shelter. It would have provided next-to-no protection in the previous night's violent storm but at least there's a concrete slab to keep the bases dry. It's early Saturday morning. I wait for the occupants to wake. A man around 40, rifles through bins looking for bottles and cans to recycle. He tells me he had been living in Lismore in the 2022 floods and had been homeless ever since. He tells me he hasn't been able to get his life on track.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-01/ballina-homeless-floods-l…
# Must read NSW, Disasters, Public and community housing.NSW social housing residents say maintenance requests slipping through the cracks
Sarah Gerathy and Millie Roberts ABC (No paywall)For the past eight months, Andrew Grant has noticed the distinct smell of gas next to his home. Every time he goes out for groceries, it wafts in the air, emitted from townhouses in his social housing complex in Sydney's inner-city suburb Redfern. He said neighbours had reported it, but as far as he knew no-one had come out to investigate so far. A townhouse that was part of a social housing complex in Western Sydney exploded earlier this week, killing 30-year-old woman Mhey Jasmine. A gas leak is suspected to be the cause. Neighbours had reported smelling gas in the weeks leading up to the explosion, something Mr Grant said "struck a chord" with him because of his own experience in Redfern. The gas smell is one of a handful of problems he said had been left unaddressed.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-05/nsw-social-housing-lackin…
# Must read NSW, Public and community housing, Repairs, Security and safety.