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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See notes about the Digest and a list of other contributors here. Many thanks to those contributors for sharing links with us.
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Archive
A more humane, less costly solution for aged care: stay at home
Pru Goward The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)... living longer at home is a solution to the challenge of caring for our frail elderly that could, for once, please everyone.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/a-more-humane-less-costly-soluti…
# Australia, Older people, Public and community housing.As a rent crisis looms, councils have a plan – the government should take note
Gaby Hinsliff The Guardian (No paywall)United Kingdom: Buying up cheap housing could provide a safety net to millions who may struggle to pay the bills as the pandemic continues
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/oct/30/rent-crisi…
# Hot topic International, Public and community housing, Coronavirus COVID-19.I tried, and failed, to solve homelessness in Westminster. Here's what I learned
Robert White The Guardian (No paywall)United Kingdom: For almost seven years, I worked for Westminster city council to “reduce rough sleeping” – a task that was a lot harder than I had originally anticipated... There’s still some way to go, then.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/oct/31/solve-home…
# International, Homelessness, Coronavirus COVID-19.Real Estate Defaults Are Coming. Don’t Waste Them
David Abromowitz and Andrew Jakabovics (No paywall)United States: What the federal government should do to grab the opportunity to create affordable housing. ‘Evidence of tremendous strain on tens of millions of renters across America continues to mount. Among renters in so-called Class C properties—rental properties that cater to lower-wage workers and families hit particularly hard by the pandemic—the percentage paying in full has dropped off from 46 percent to 24 percent since April, with only 12 percent of such renters paying in full on the first of October.
https://shelterforce.org/2020/10/20/getting-ahead-of-the-next-ho…
# Hot topic International, Eviction, Affordable housing, Coronavirus COVID-19.Federal Government handed almost $1m in contracts to controversial aged care executive Gary Barnier
Dan Conifer and Michael Atkin ABC (No paywall)The Federal Government handed almost $1 million in contracts to a controversial aged care executive without contacting any other potential suppliers. ... Mr Barnier resigned from Opal in 2017 after 7.30 highlighted Opal's neglect of some residents and raised concerns about his personal behaviour towards customers and their families.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-11-01/government-gave-almost-$1…
# Australia, Older people, Federal Government.Australian measure of poverty unnecessary because welfare is “comprehensive and targeted”
Luke Hendriques-Gomes The Guardian (No paywall)Australia does not need an official poverty measure because its welfare system is “comprehensive” and “targeted”, according to the social services minister.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/oct/28/australia…
# Australia, Welfare.'Let it die': Whistleblower alleges agency boss didn't act on $20m 'rort'
Carrie Fellner The Sydney Morning Herald (No paywall)The head of a NSW government agency allegedly told a whistleblower not to act after he uncovered a major rort in the building industry bleeding up to $20 million a year in public money because it would make her "look bad" to the minister.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/let-it-die-whistleblower-all…
# Hot topic NSW, Planning and development, State Government.New Zealand house prices soar despite Covid recession, worsening affordability crisis
Phil Taylor The Guardian (No paywall)New Zealand house prices have defied the Covid-19 recession and soared to record levels, prompting warnings that the hot property market will damage the country’s long-term economic wellbeing and widen inequality. New Zealand, which already had some of the most unaffordable housing in the world, saw median prices rise 11.1 % in the year to September, while the median price in Auckland reached nearly $1m. Prices rose 2.5% across the country in September compared with August.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/29/new-zealand-house-…
# Hot topic International, Housing market.