Dire Affordable Housing Shortage in ACT and throughout Australia: Thank You Jieh-Yung Lo, it seems there only you and me here at present. Australia on this issue seems all out to lunch.

As you said, "All Australians deserve accessible and affordable housing. From what I have seen, the local government sector can rise up to the challenge".

Present situation:

"A shortage of affordable accommodation can limit the ability of a local area to attract essential workers to maintain services such as transport, medical support facilities, schools, local council utilities and childcare. Importantly, limited housing choices can reduce diversity in the community and impact on community cohesion if entire sections of a population are excluded from particular locations due to cost factors."

Future Situation:

"As the economy rebounds from the global financial crisis in association with higher population growth, the impact of higher house prices, interest rates and no significant increase in housing stock, affordability and housing stress will not only be a state and a national issue but a local issue as well." Councils with Federal and State governments across Australia urgently need to respond.

Advocacy groups need to do more to educate their own communities. As said, "The changing demographic and social patterns such as the ageing population, new migrants and arrivals and an increase in lone person households, students, both local and international are creating a high demand for greater diversity in housing stock than it currently exists."

We need a See Change Now.

http://www.miacat.com/
.

As we continue to use property as a major component of our investment strategies we will continue to sink ever deeper into financial nightmare.

It disgusts me as daily we see media, fincial and investment organisation spokespeople say, "The good news is property prices will rise again". WOW I am so pleaed my children, grandchildren and their children will be able to look forward to having no where to live and no industry or infrastructure to support them. They will live in a 2 class system with one class having major social issues and the other having major security issues. Come on "Brave New World", bring it on. Maybe from the ashes of our greed a fair and humanitarian society will rise. I doubt it though.

Increasing property values means:
1: Less and less ordinary Australians can afford them.
2: Less money to invest in business and infrastructure.
3: More power to the wealthy, the greedy and forign investors.
4: The total disintergration of the Australian dream
5: The demoralising of the people.
6: Increasing social problems

We don't need to change what we do or how we do it, it's not working.
We need to do something different, we are a very intelligent animal, lets do something with our intelligence to improve Australia for ALL Australians, not the fortunate few.

Land is worth nothing when it displaces a population. Fair Go Australia has lost its cord. One wonders if we as a democratic society have learnt anything over the past 200 odd years.

Rental Prices tipped to hike during 2010

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601081&sid=a4_wRkUhOD68

Insane economics Australia.

Are we in the rental market to become members of a new kind of servile citizenship?

Is Australia creating a new form of feudal class of people who are becoming increasingly marginalised. An important population to be bound, enslaven, enthralled to work, work, work only for the sake of earning to pay their rent, paying higher rates over and above food and or the sustainable breath of life?

This is getting way out of hand!

http://www.miacat.com/

Google more

http://news.google.com.au/news/more?um=1&cf=all&ned=au&source=hp&cf=all&ncl=dn7LnvA2RK71eoM8UPgLzb43474mM

Why is it a local government responsibility to guarantee “affordable housing”?

Every time a government decides to get involved in any market place, they stuff it up and housing is, after all, just another series of “markets” with buyers and renters on one side and landlords and sellers on the other.

We live in a society where housing rents are not controlled by public bureaucrats and selling prices are not controlled by public bureaucrats.

So, why should local bureaucrats to be held responsible or accountable for “affordable housing”

Imho the further away local councils stay from interfering (with inevitable political intent) in the housing market, the better for:
Rental housing
Property ownership and
The health and wellbeing of local councils.

There is a notion that owner-occupation of real estate was an Australian right.

Might as well get the truth out here and now

Home ownership is something which some will achieve and others will not.

The point with “affordability” is

It depends as much on ones earning level and ones discretionary spending choices
as it does on either the rent / mortgage payment being paid for occupancy

whilst the myth of diminishing “affordability” is always being touted, the fact remains, housing will remain relative to earnings due to the vast majority of financed ownerships which are tied to the combination of 20% deposit and 30% of earnings to repayments ratios.

What this article complains about the fact that Somali refugees find it tough adapting to Australian domestic budgets and has nothing to do with what may or may not be “affordable”

The housing revolution in UK when Margaret Thatcher sold off all the public housing (at discount rates) to the long term residents of the public housing.

It served the residents as much as it served the councils, freeing up council investment resources to be better deployed

With the burgeoning balance of the Victorian State public debt, the best thing all round is to retire as much debt as possible, instead of leaving it as an inherited burden for our grand children to refund.

I live in a government housing in Queanbeyan NSW,I'm very greatful for being able to live in cheaper accommondation,my only complaint is the house has four bedrooms and its only myself and 12yr old son,I applied for a transfer to a smaller property back in june last year,every week I get told there is nothing available,I know of several families who could do with the extra room,there are a lot of people in these houses who's children have left,are their on their own, five in my street alone.
I think it would be worth while if housing took a look at peoples situations more closely,the size,and space needed... It can only make peoples these stressed when over crowing occures, my girlfriend has nine children in a three bedroom, go figure, I am lost for understanding of the governments analogy...

Col: What utter rot.

Your "better fors are the developers, landlords and councils!
No mention of the general public, those that the above are suppose to be providing for, not for their purse strings.

In the beginning we invaded the country, stole the land and gave it free to developers, farmers and landlords.

This cannot last much longer, their own greed is destroying them.

Not everyone is in the same circumstance Col my friend, an many have committed no greater crime than to be born into a poor family. There are a lot of "Shattered Dreams" out there. I know.

Every Australian has equal right to Australia, don't they Col?

Or is it the wealthier you are the more right you have?