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
1991 NT cabinet documents reveal policies to boost home ownership, a ban on riding in the back of utes and the first Arafura Games
Mitchell Abram ABC (No paywall)Northern Territory cabinet documents from 1991 released to the public for the first time show the NT government approved a range of home assistance schemes to boost home ownership in the Territory ... The more things change: Affordable and accessible housing was also an issue in 1991, just as it is today. That year, the NT government approved a package of home assistance schemes designed to help low and middle-income groups own their own homes, called the HomeNorth Loan Portfolio Scheme. It included a mortgage scheme for first home buyers with family incomes between $300 and $600 per week and another for subsequent home buyers with weekly family incomes of $601 to $900. "Home ownership in the Territory is still something that all governments in the Territory over the last 30 years have been talking about – how to make it more affordable, or more accessible for everyday Territorians to get into the housing market," Minister Paech said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-02/nt-1991-cabinet-documents…
# Australia, History, Home ownership, State Government.‘Inevitable’: Where house prices are heading in 2022
Kate Burke and Elizabeth Redman Domain (No paywall)Australia’s booming housing market is set for an “inevitable” slowdown this year, with easing buyer demand and an increase in homes for sale expected to bring an end to rapidly rising prices.
https://www.smh.com.au/property/news/inevitable-where-house-pric…
# Australia, Housing affordability, Housing market.‘Travesty of justice’: Eastern suburbs council proposes raising building heights
Andrew Taylor The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Plans to raise building heights and encourage night-life in one of Sydney’s wealthiest suburbs have provoked opposition from residents weeks after council elections dominated by concerns about overdevelopment.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/travesty-of-justice-eastern-subu…
# NSW, Local Government, Planning and development.The once-booming mining town of Queenstown is primed for revitalisation
Alexandra Humphries ABC (No paywall)Queenstown's main street is reminiscent of a bygone era. Once the hub of a booming mining town, it now has many buildings in disrepair. Now, new residents are moving in and breathing new life into the isolated town on Tasmania's West Coast.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-03/new-residents-breathe-lif…
# Australia, Heritage listings.Most people just want a roof overhead and a place to call home
David Hayward The Age (Paywall)Today we have released our interim report for public comment and discussion. We have recommended that all public and community housing be overseen by a single regulator for the first time. We have recommended a new set of standards for the new regulator, including minimum property standards, fire safety, health and cultural safety for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tenants. These standards would also cover tenancy management and the way providers work to sustain people’s housing versus pushing them out and refilling properties. With a new regulator and new standards, we have recommended the creation of funded tenancy advocacy services that build people’s capacity and guide people through issues like maintenance, repairs and complaints. Complaints would go to a new independent mechanism that aims to resolve issues and conflict through mediation rather than lawyers. We have proposed these changes with one overriding intent: to place tenants at the centre of the social housing system because each social housing property is someone’s home. This purpose would be enshrined in an amended Housing Act. If we do this, many other things will start to change for the better.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/most-people-just-wan…
# Must read Australia, Public and community housing, Repairs, Human rights, State Government.‘Housing is a human right’: Review calls for social housing regulator
Jewel Topsfield The Age (Paywall)An independent review of Victoria’s social housing system has recommended all public and community housing be overseen by a single regulator and tenants’ needs be enshrined in legislation. The review’s interim report found there should be a greater focus on the tenants who live in Victoria’s 85,000 social housing properties. “Many social housing tenants have negative experiences,” it says. These included a lack of responsiveness to maintenance requests, concerns about safety – including drugs and criminal behaviour – and tenants feeling they were badly treated or their voices ignored. The review, commissioned by the state government following its landmark $5.3 billion investment in social housing last year, recommended amending the Housing Act and Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities to protect and safeguard the interests of current and future tenants.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/housing-is-a-human-r…
# Must read Australia, Public and community housing, Repairs, Human rights, State Government.Renting story collection - share your story
Tenants' Union of NSW (No paywall)I'd like to share this email with you ... We've been relaunching Make Renting Fair over the past few months, and we're so grateful that you're coming with us on that journey.
https://mailchi.mp/tenants.org.au/make-renting-fair-making-a-com…
# NSW, Campaigns and law reform, Personal stories.Australia standing proud — and increasingly alone — as property haven for international criminals
Nathan Lynch (No paywall)Australia has been one of the world’s leading laggards when it comes to blocking money laundering through the holy trinity of lawyers, real estate agents and accountants. In refusing to pass its promised Tranche 2 laws, Canberra has made it abundantly clear that Australian gatekeeper professions are open for business. Any kind of business. ... And watch the story on YouTube entitled: 'Launder your money through Australian real estate!'. (Michael West Media)
https://www.michaelwest.com.au/australia-is-increasingly-isolate…
# Australia, Housing market, International.