Which just leaves the question of why there is no revival of this sort of conservative social-democracy? There is plenty of history to build on, plus what I'm sure is a keen electoral base to mobilize, but no takers in the political class beyond a teal or two.
"The home is the foundation of sanity and sobriety; it is the indispensable condition of continuity; its health determines the health of society as a whole."
Melbourne had this problem & imposed a levy on Council rates, but it wasn't hefty enough to encourage owners to rent them out to long-term tenants.
Other countries have tried doubling the Council Rates also. And of course there's thousands of Airbnb homes listed which stand empty most of the time. The owners want to keep their "investment" neat & clean. It's immoral really when we have over 100k homeless.
A note on the build quality of public housing: That issue is also a matter of political will. Some estates were very well built and have held up today. The problem is that state government, quite deliberately I must surmise, do not adequately fund maintenance. They would rather see old & young live amongst mould and decay than do the bare minimum that even private landlords are supposed to do.
@Cameron, what’s your thinking on why neither side of politics, at least at a federal level, is getting in behind the idea of more Cth government delivered public housing?
Is it because they view it as the role of the States and CHPs, who one could argue have the most recent and relevant experience?
If you take that view, then is it simply a matter of allocating capital to the States and CHPs to get it done?
You’re also then one-step removed from the delivery risk - and therefore political risk that other commenters have mentioned.
I nice bit of historical research. I was not aware of the attitudes expressed at that time. Menzies did a great job in building the houses and had the good sense to sell them off at an advantageous price to the purchaser who then took on the maintenance and enjoyed the capital appreciation. An excellent model. There would be less capital appreciation if this sort of program was pursued with vigour. The relationship between house prices and incomes would not have blown out so much if the program had persisted.
Did public housing create the Australian dream?
Which just leaves the question of why there is no revival of this sort of conservative social-democracy? There is plenty of history to build on, plus what I'm sure is a keen electoral base to mobilize, but no takers in the political class beyond a teal or two.
"The home is the foundation of sanity and sobriety; it is the indispensable condition of continuity; its health determines the health of society as a whole."
https://www.menziesrc.org/the-forgotten-people
Excellent article.
What do you think about the vast number of EMPTY HOMES in Australia?
The 2021 Census revealed over 1m empty dwellings.
( https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/housing/housing-census/2021 )
Melbourne had this problem & imposed a levy on Council rates, but it wasn't hefty enough to encourage owners to rent them out to long-term tenants.
Other countries have tried doubling the Council Rates also. And of course there's thousands of Airbnb homes listed which stand empty most of the time. The owners want to keep their "investment" neat & clean. It's immoral really when we have over 100k homeless.
Thoughts welcome.
A note on the build quality of public housing: That issue is also a matter of political will. Some estates were very well built and have held up today. The problem is that state government, quite deliberately I must surmise, do not adequately fund maintenance. They would rather see old & young live amongst mould and decay than do the bare minimum that even private landlords are supposed to do.
@Cameron, what’s your thinking on why neither side of politics, at least at a federal level, is getting in behind the idea of more Cth government delivered public housing?
Is it because they view it as the role of the States and CHPs, who one could argue have the most recent and relevant experience?
If you take that view, then is it simply a matter of allocating capital to the States and CHPs to get it done?
You’re also then one-step removed from the delivery risk - and therefore political risk that other commenters have mentioned.
I nice bit of historical research. I was not aware of the attitudes expressed at that time. Menzies did a great job in building the houses and had the good sense to sell them off at an advantageous price to the purchaser who then took on the maintenance and enjoyed the capital appreciation. An excellent model. There would be less capital appreciation if this sort of program was pursued with vigour. The relationship between house prices and incomes would not have blown out so much if the program had persisted.