We would like to thank Catriona Thoolen
Senate Candidate for the Palmer United Party
for writing to us and sharing her knowledge
and perspective on the situation.
"I have been appalled at the ongoing sell-off of public housing in every state of Australia. All State/Territory governments insist that the money from these sales goes back into housing, but it certainly is not going into actually building and providing new public housing.
The
money seems to flow into some 'kitty' used to fund Rent Assistance
provided to those who are renting privately. Not only is the value of
the Rent Assistance inadequate due to rising rents, but eventually they
will have nothing left to sell to refill the kitty.
1.
Governments need to make a commitment to using all funds from the sale
of existing public housing to be directed back to creating more, new
public housing.
2. The rental cost of public housing needs to be defined as a set % of the occupant's income, not some arbitrary figure.
3.
There should be one list in each state for people waiting for public
housing, rather than the multiple lists that people requiring housing
are recommended to join.
4. The transfer of
public housing to community housing groups need to stop. Many of these,
although claiming to be 'not for profit', manage to pay extraordinary
salaries to their staff. These groups also 'pick and choose' which
people to help, so the disabled, the unemployed, the elderly, can end up
waiting far longer than what is acceptable if they were using a 'needs
based' or even 'first come, first served' criteria.
I
don't know who came up with the idea of privatising public housing, but
the increasing size of the waiting list and the increasing numbers of
homeless people has proven that it has not worked.
Time to return to an Australia that shows we truly value the 'fair go' that we all claim with national pride."
Hi, Fiona: You follow me and my blog (www.hudsucks.blogspot.com), and I read yours with interest. It's amazing to me how similar the housing problems are here, as in Australia. I was wondering if you'd noticed the similarities, too - and - if so - what are your thoughts on the matter? Coincidence? Or social engineering gone dreadfully wrong?
ReplyDeleteIm a member of Friends of PH VIC and this save public housing campaign is local which means you acan do something about it straight away.I have seen what is going on with public housing tenants and understand their issues.Ive met more public tenants than ever before and they are very straight forward no bullshit people who just want a place to live. They really value public housing.The housing estates are not threatening places to visit and I havent met one unfriendly tenant yet.These communities are very multicultural indeed.I havent seen any racism on these estates. They all seem to live together in harmony.Working on this campaign has been a rewarding experience for me.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your response. Would you mind if I shared this post to my fb group OCCUPY HUD? I'd appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteGo for it Lydia. There are so many similarities between what is happening here and overseas and this should be more widely known.Its a global neoliberal agenda.We have had 'stock transfer experts' from overseas at conferences etc telling the powerbrokers and politicians how it has been done. Getting rid of public housing has been a social disaster overseas and yet political parties seem hell-bent on doing the same here. Massive amounts of money involved. The public are not being informed of it- hardly democratic! Keep well Lydia, xxx Fiona
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