Housing

  • Housing stress: let them eat rice

    Mortgage rates, we are told, are at historical lows. And yet, according to The experience of Mortgage Distress in Western Sydney report released in June by the University of Western Sydney, some mortgage holders are finding it so hard to pay, they are reduced to eating nothing but rice. The study sought to investigate the impact of mortgage distress as experienced by individual households. The accepted definition of mortgage stress centres on the borrower being in payment arrears of 90 days or more. The UWS study argues that this definition is not broad enough.

  • Sydney: Queer artists evicted from squat

    Five young queer artists — the Centrepiece Collective — were evicted by Marrickville Council from the abandoned former nurses quarters at the old Marrickville hospital on May 18. The artists set up a work and refuge space in the “nurses quarters” in the inner west in April. Sydney's rental market is prohibitive and, for artists, studio art space is an added burden. The multi-storied building had been vacant for 15 years.

  • John Pilger: Why sharks should not own sport

    As Tiger Woods returns to golf, not all his affairs are salacious headlines. In Dubai, the Tiger Woods Golf Course is costing $100 million to build. Dubai relies on cheap Third World labour, as do certain consumer brands that have helped make Woods a billionaire. Nike workers in Thailand wrote to Woods, expressing their “utmost respect for your skill and perseverance as an athlete” but pointing out that they would need to work 72,000 years “to receive what you will earn from [your Nike] contract”.

  • Gov’t breaks homes, calls it reform

    The federal government’s $672 million Strategic Indigenous Housing and Infrastructure Project (SIHIP), has failed to improve Aboriginal housing in the Northern Territory. Only a handful of houses have been built and adequate repairs to existing current housing stock have not been made. Announced in 2008, SIHIP promised 750 houses for chronically overcrowded Aboriginal communities. The project is running over budget but still failing to meet the needs of remote communities.

  • Enough - we must stand together to protect Victoria’s public housing

    • Naarm/Melbourne

    Australia is in the worst housing crisis in its history. The effects of this are felt mainly and most severely by low and moderate-income households. The State of Victoria has the lowest level of public and community housing in Australia, at 2.8 percent. Over 58,000 people remain on the State public housing waiting list; many more remain in over-priced substandard private…

  • Fighting the Far Right - Who they are and how we resist them

    • Western Australia
    • Boorloo/Perth & Walyalup/Fremantle

    In the aftermath of the nationwide far-right protests, and the counter-demonstrations against them, we need a theory that identifies what shapes these forces and a strategy to counter it. How should socialists respond to the growing far-right threat? What tactics can best counter them? Join us to discuss these and other questions.

  • Renters and Housing Union WA Do It Yourself Day

    • Boorloo/Perth & Walyalup/Fremantle

    RAHU WA DIY day. Join us as we do a bunch of crafts and DIY some RAHU t-shirts. All are welcome. We are making a bunch of stuff for our May Day stall and the march. We will have some materials available, but if you want to make a specific thing make sure to bring those supplies. If you bring clothing items, you will be able to get something stencilled on it.

  • Rally for Renters' Rights

    • Boorloo/Perth & Walyalup/Fremantle

    During the worst housing crisis Western Australia has ever seen, the state government is about to pass reforms to rental laws. The first Bill listed in Parliament on the first sitting day of the month. Yet despite record-low vacancy rates and record-high homelessness, the WA government has caved to real estate lobbying and refused to remove 'no-grounds' evictions, even though most…