Reform: Housing 2009

• Autralian Law Reform Commission

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Image: Space Cadet Marko / flickr

22 January 2010This edition of the ALRC's Reform focuses on the ability to provide adequate housing for all Australians.

Federal Government initiatives in this area are outlined by the responsible Minister, the Hon Tanya Plibersek MP. Australian Human Rights Commission President, the Hon Catherine Branson, and her colleague Dr Cassandra Goldie assess the human rights implications of the national housing strategy, while Adam Farrar (NSW Federation of Housing Associations) considers the ramifications of a policy shift to community housing options.

Various aspects of homelessness are debated by Robin Banks (Public Interest Advocacy Centre) and Chris Hartley (Homeless Persons’ Legal Service), Karen Wilcox and Ludo McFerran (Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse), and Rebecca Reynolds (Twenty10).

Respected Aboriginal community leader Tom Slockee provides a personal perspective on Indigenous housing, drawing on his lengthy experience in this field. Chris Lamont (Housing Industry Association) discusses housing affordability, while Ian Winter (Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute) calls for more informed and constructive debate around the social objectives of land use planning.

Other articles discuss reforms required in the areas of tenancy rights (Deborah Pippen, Tenants’ Union ACT); and housing for the elderly (Susannah Sage Jacobson, Public Interest Law Clearing House of Victoria). The final article on this subject, by academic Graeme Wiffin, discusses the tensions that often arise in practice between providing housing and preserving heritage.

Image: 'Northcote Housing Commission Apartments', Space Cadet Marko / flickr