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.
Our main email newsletter, Tenant News is sent once every two months. You can subscribe or update your subscription preferences for any of our email newsletters here.
See notes about the Digest and a list of other contributors here. Many thanks to those contributors for sharing links with us.
We love sharing the news and hope you find it informative! We're very happy to deliver it for free, but if you find it valuable, can you help cover the extra costs incurred by making a donation?
Archive
Anthony Albanese’s approval rating falls to lowest level since election, Guardian Essential poll shows
Paul Karp The Guardian (No paywall)Anthony Albanese’s approval has fallen to its lowest level since the 2022 election and almost half of voters think Australia is heading in the wrong direction, the latest Guardian Essential poll suggests.
More than two-thirds of voters (68%) think the Albanese government is not doing enough to ensure “affordable and secure rentals” while three-quarters (75%) said the same about the cost of living, the survey of 1,148 respondents found.
The poll was taken in the final parliamentary sitting week before the winter break, after the Greens and Coalition teamed up in the Senate to delay the government’s $10bn housing future fund until October.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jun/27/anthony-a…
# Hot topic Australia, Federal Government, Housing affordability, Housing market.Housing crisis: Is talk of NIMBYs and council red tape a red herring?
Rachael Dexter and Royce Millar The Age (Paywall)Sally Edwards burst into tears when she opened an email from her real estate agent this week.
It was notice of a $600-a-month rent increase for the North Melbourne flat the 40-year-old single mum shares with her 12-year-old son and eight-year-old daughter.
Under her new lease, monthly payments would rise by $600 to $2542. This, just a year after her last monthly rent increase of $150.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/housing-crisis-is-ta…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent, Housing affordability, Personal stories.50% Discount try.shopecoheat.co Buy now Ad 1 of 2 · 3:08 try.shopecoheat.co 4 0:01 / 3:10 ABC is an Australian public broadcast service. Wikipedia Homelessness rises amid Australia’s national housing crisis
ABC Video Lab ABC (No paywall)A wave of demand for social housing is rising while more and more people are struggling to afford their rental properties, and supply is dwindling. We meet three people lost in the frenzy for an increasingly hard-to-find commodity – a home.
# Hot topic, Video Australia, Homelessness, Housing affordability.Labor under pressure to freeze rents as Greens and Coalition back inquiry into housing crisis
Paul Karp The Guardian (No paywall)The Senate has set up an inquiry into the rental crisis, a process designed by the Greens to pressure the Albanese government to agree to freeze or cap rising rents.
On Monday the Greens voted with the Coalition to delay consideration of Labor’s $10bn Housing Australia Future Fund (Haff) until 16 October, despite pressure from housing groups to pass the bill after the government pledged $2bn of direct funding for social and affordable housing.
The Greens and Coalition teamed up again on Thursday to establish the inquiry, which will provide an interim report by 23 September to provide input into the national cabinet process considering renters’ rights set up by the Albanese government.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jun/22/labor-und…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent, Federal Government, Housing affordability.Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peak Organisations urge immediate action on housing fund
Giovanni Torre National Indigenous Times (No paywall)The Coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peak Organisations (Coalition of Peaks) has urged politicians to "stop squabbling" and take immediate action to resolve delays on the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) Bill.
Coalition of Peaks' Deputy Lead Convenors, Scott Wilson and Catherine Liddle, said housing was too critical an issue to "fall victim to political game-playing".
"Housing is a key social determinant of health; our people need housing now. It's time to stop procrastinating," Mr Wilson, who is Chair of the South Australian Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation Network, said.
"Our politicians need to stop dragging this issue out and start taking action.
"There's no guarantee that come October the legislation will pass, and even if it does, by the time you even start building houses we're looking at 2025."
https://nit.com.au/22-06-2023/6467/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-…
# Hot topic Australia, Aboriginal renters, Campaigns and law reform, Federal Government.Call to close the homelessness gap for First Nations people
Patricia Karvelas ABC (No paywall)New ABS Census analysis has revealed that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are vastly over represented in the nation's homeless population.
First nations Australians make up for a fifth of those experiencing homelessness, despite representing less than four per cent of the overall population.
https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/call-to-…
# Hot topic, Audio Australia, Aboriginal renters, Families, Homelessness.Animal shelters face unprecedented demand as tight rental market forces pet owners to make 'heartbreaking' choices
Anisha Pillarisetty ABC (No paywall)A South Australian charity supporting vulnerable people with pets says the housing crisis has pushed demand for its services to unprecedented levels.
Safe Pets Safe Families founder and chief executive officer Jennifer Howard said the foster care program was being inundated with calls on a daily basis.
"We have had to turn away so many people."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-27/sa-animal-shelters-face-s…
# Hot topic Australia, Housing affordability, Housing market.Most liveable city: How Vienna earned its place in housing history
Jake Blumgart City Monitor (No paywall)The annual ranking of the Global Liveability Index for 2023 from the EIU has seen Vienna retake the top spot as the most liveable city in the world.
This is the fourth time in the past five years that the Austrian capital has come out on top. Criteria include stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. Within the latter category, which accounts for 20% of the score is “Availability of good-quality housing”.
https://citymonitor.ai/housing/red-vienna-how-austrias-capital-e…
# Hot topic, History International, Affordable housing, International, Planning and development.