Housing a calamity for 1.5 million Australian households

A national alliance of community, housing and homelessness organisations is meeting with Senators today to call for their supporting in closing the widening housing gap for 1.5 million Australians households.

The Everybody’s Home campaign launched in Canberra yesterday with hundreds of organisations mobilising support behind a five point plan for a fairer deal for renters, first home buyers and people at risk of homelessness.

Everybody’s Home is asking all parties to support a plan to:

  1. Prioritise home buyers by reducing negative gearing and capital gains tax; exemptions – and use the revenue it raises to help fund more social land affordable housing options for ordinary Australians;
  2. Develop a national strategy for providing the shortfall of 500,000 social and affordable needed in Australia;
  3. Support renters by ending no grounds evictions and unfair rent rises;
  4. Provide immediate relief for Australians in chronic housing stress by increasing rent assistance to reflect increasing housing costs; and
  5. A real plan to end homelessness in Australia.

“1.5 million households in Australia spend over 30% of their income on housing costs. Almost three in four of these are renters,” campaign spokesperson Kate Colvin said.

“Yesterday we had nurses at our campaign launch telling their story about the impact of housing costs and insecurity on the lives of themselves and their families,”.

“If they’re working every day as nurses and still in dire housing insecurity, it’s a sign that’s there’s something chronically broken wrong with the way our housing system is working,

“Eyerybody’s Home is looking to change the national debate from a focus on real estate investment to the need to address the entire housing system so that every Australian has a safe, secure roof over their head whether they’re buying, renting or at risk of homelessness.

“We’ll be starting a conversation with all parties in Parliament House today to show them we have the solutions Australia desperately needs.”

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