The COMMON
GOOD essentially
means that EVERYONE has relatively easy
access to what they need to live a fully human life -
that
is, to achieve their potential as human beings. It is absolutely
evident that in Australia in 2004, thousands of Australians
are denied an essential element of being able to achieve
their full
potential - namely -
safe,
affordable and appropriate housing.
On the one hand we have had an extraordinary housing boom and
on the other hand we have seen a significant decline in public
housing and affordable housing.
The market and government are not serving the COMMON
GOOD.
Increase
in Public Housing Stock
What is the
problem?
A substantial
shift in housing support has taken place over the past decade
away from the supply of low-cost public
and community
housing towards “in the pocket” financial assistance.
The thinking behind this move has been to give low-income people
rent assistance so that they can find suitable housing on the
private rental market. In the ten years to 2003-04, Commonwealth
spending on rent assistance has increased by 7% in real terms,
while base grant funding to the States for low-cost housing
has decreased by 54% - on top of a 25% fall in the ten years
prior to that.
This decline in Government funding has come despite the fact
that a number of inquiries, including the 1993 Industry Commission
Report on Public Housing, have demonstrated conclusively that
capital expenditure on public housing is the most cost-effective
way of increasing access to affordable housing.
In fact, the strategy of forcing people into
the private rental market is not working. Low-rent homes are
increasingly difficult
to find because landlords cannot get a good enough return on
them. This is especially true in areas where jobs are available.
When rents are increased to counter this, the houses are beyond
the means of low-income people, even with rent assistance. People
in the lowest 20% of incomes who are in the private rental market
are paying up to 66% of their income in rent. They commonly go
without food, clothing, heating, etc. to keep a roof over their
heads. Into this low-income category come some of the most marginalised
groups in our society – young people, elderly people, Indigenous
Australians and single parents.
In addition to those suffering extreme housing stress in the
private rental market, there are also some 200,000 people who
are in boarding houses and caravan parks as well as more than
100,000 who are homeless on any given night.
What is SAO
calling for?
SAO is calling
for an increase in Commonwealth funding devoted to the provision
of low-cost public housing.
First
Home Owners Grant
What is the
problem?
The First
Home Owners Grant (FHOG) was introduced in 2000 to head off
a downturn in the Australian economy. The
idea was
to stimulate the building industry. The strategy was partially
successful in that it did help to kick-start the economy.
But it also had side effects. Many grants went to higher-income
households who simply brought forward their house purchase
and who bought existing houses rather than building. The
added
demand for houses served to increase house prices, with the
result that housing became less affordable.
The FHOG is available to all citizens or permanent residents
who are purchasing or building their first home in Australia.
It is a one-off grant of $7,000. The grant does not take into
account the income of the applicant, the price of the home or
whether the applicants own property overseas.
What is SAO
calling for?
The SAO is
calling for the FHOG to be available only to families earning
below the median income and for dwellings
below the
median housing price in the area.
Affordable
and Sustainable Housing
What is the
problem?
Housing affordability
is now at its worst-ever level according to a National Summit
on Housing held in June 2004.
Average
house prices relative to incomes have almost doubled in the
past ten years. The number of first home buyers has halved
since 2001 and their share of new home loans has fallen from
over 30% to under 20%.
It’s just as serious for renters. In 2001
less than ten percent of low-income households could afford
to rent a three
bedroom house in Sydney, Melbourne or Adelaide. The situation
in Brisbane was less serious at that time but median rents increased
in Brisbane by 15% in the year to December 2003 as part of the
local housing boom. Opportunities to rent public housing have
fallen by about 20 percent in the past decade.
At the low-income end of the scale, the situation
is at crisis point. More than 1.5 million people – three-quarters of
a million families – are paying more than 30% of their
income in rent. Over 100,000 people are homeless every night.
What is SAO
calling for?
SAO is calling
on candidates to support the range of measures designed to
increase housing affordability, among
them:
ACOSS – Housing
Inquiry Needed
Australian
Housing and Urban Research Institute
