When tenants start thinking its their 'right' for Government to provide everything from nappies to housing you have a decline in standards and stinking attitudes. Having grown up in Government housing I am thankful to the Aussie Government for their kindness. The moment that thankfulness changes to demands you can be sure you will get a lesser standard of care for those houses. Dare I say look at much of indigenous housing and see how quickly it is trashed.

To the intractable racists amongst us:

...You imply all Aboriginals trash houses. Well, no they don’t! It is a credit to Governments of all colours that over the years they have persisted in providing special accommodation for Aboriginal settlements: and all against the howls of “unfair” from pompous and racist Australians. Fortunately, on this point, Government show remarkable foresight and compassion in their persistence to continue with supply and oversight of this social service, against the detractors.

...I can vividly remember in country towns I grew up in, Aboriginals allowed to enter the town on pay day only. That unspoken rule was presided over by the gleeful local racist walloper (exposing the alive and well current Police culture of Racism again): Until the arrival of Charlie Perkins of course, in the late 60’s.

...Until the changes gallantly fought for by Aboriginal activists such as Charley Perkins, Aboriginal housing was non-existent. Camp life was an abomination and a horror, the most elaborate building visible, a red phone box; a white token installed to improve the wealth of the local taxi industry only.

...With no hope of escape or chance of betterment possible, because of the persistence of racist culture in the white communities throughout Australia; (and very definitely not dead yet) Aboriginals have made a gallant and successful attempt to improve their lot by progressively accepting conventional community housing as a way of life; with still some way to go.

I think I should point out that particularly in Sydney, where even the flimsiest more easterly properties average at well of half a million, and with the cost of living inflating due to reduced potential purchases from people struggling to keep up with their rents, we are going to NEED more public housing available, and we are going to NEED to make it cater for Middle Class tenants, if we are going to stop the rapid expansion outwards (and possibly nurture a reduction in urban coverage among the suburbs).

Certainly, it could be nothing more than a matter of houses that run at a one-point loss to taxpayers of initial construction, with the tenants paying only necessary maintenance costs in their rents.

I'm more than happy to pay for that (and most certainly wouldn't be jealous of people that preferred to live urban than suburban, myself), especially to fill up vacant space in the inner city with houses that people can actually afford- as every high-rise filled with people easily prevents another satellite suburb from needing to be built and more cars to clog our roads.

Further construction of these properties would allow existing houses to empty out, allowing the suburbs to shrink in size to more comfortable levels.

And as far as I'm concerned, that is a good investment return!

diver dan,

Maybe you are overcooking the 'pompous and racist Australians' bit too. Just to make a short list of a few places where visitors are unlikely to stop through gaining a reputation for abuse, theft and violence,

Wiluna
Dubbo
Wilcannia
Roebourne
Halls Creek
Bourke (Crystal City)
Brewarrina
Walgett
Arakun
Wiluna

There is no question that Aboriginals have been the subject of discrimination, but like the remainder of society there are those who do choose to trash their environment and live in squalor. To the list I gave earlier could be added the 'known' to police (and property managers) 'burbs of cities. All cultural groups are represented and in some areas, some more than others.

The reason government backed out of welfare housing to shove its responsibility onto the private sector was that it simply could manage housing, it was a constant running sore with complaints and it cost a bomb. That was regardless of whether it was welfare housing or (say) defence service housing. Unfortunately, government is beavering away on lumbering the private sector with the very conditions and expectations that made the bureaucratic management of housing hopelessly inefficient and costly.

The first sentence of my last para above should be,

"The reason government backed out of welfare housing to shove its responsibility onto the private sector was that it simply could NOT manage housing"

'NOT' was omitted previously.

1/ CRISIS IN PUBLIC HOUSING.. "we need more houses"

2/ SOLUTION.. spend heaps of money and build them!

3/ PROBLEM.. We don't HAVE that amount of money.

4/ SOLUTION.. "Redistribute wealth..TAX the rich to house the poor"

5/ PROBLEM.. The Rich move away.. you can't touch them.

6/ RESULT.. loop to point 1!

New Jersey tried it... had a great plan.. a WONDerful.. WELL researched plan...

http://www.ci.newark.nj.us/userimages/downloads/mayor_FINAL-SIGNED-EssexNewarkTenYearPlan.pdf

PROBLEM .... find it in the deeeeeetail.

Page 22 "Financing"

//Without the support, commitment, and accountability of jurisdictional (City and County) and community leaders, a Ten Year Plan is simply a piece of paper.//

errr..Yup.. they got that bit right!

THE *CRUNCH*

//Our success in achieving our goals will be largely dependent on ongoing access to state, federal, and
private philanthropic funding.//

STATE http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/state/new-jerseys-state-budget-deficit-could-reach-11-billion hmmmmmm....nope.. can't see anything there.

FEDERAL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_public_debt errrrr... 14 TRILLION federal debt? ummm nope..nothing spare there either!

PHILANTHROPIC ? woopeee.. you GO girl! SURE.. do what you like if you can coax George Soros and Bill Gates and Warren Buffet to shift some of their billions into public housing.. But methinks George Soros is more interested in destroying regimes, creating his 'Open Society' movements, and liberating the 'disproportionately represented latino population' from jail.

Australia isn't much better ..and is unlikely to become so.

*game over* for 'sufficient public housing'.