No, it’s not bleeding heart liberals who are whining. It’s an attack on the social practices of a nation from an entirely unexpected quarter.
That nation is Australia. The ‘Me’ in a recently published report: Give Me Shelter is delivered on behalf of the increasing number of citizens who are impoverished by the cost of housing or overwhelmed to the point of homelessness.
Australia MUST build truly affordable housing and hold it away from the continuously rising prices of the free market. That’s the message, not just as a plea, but delivered as a $25 billion dollar a year threat.
So who’s the bully threatening the nation on behalf of its poorest citizens?
Astonishingly, it is a business charity, Housing All Australians (HAA). We’re not talking the local hairdresser or butcher or takeaway shop. We’re talking big business that is convinced unaffordable housing is not just a social cost, it is an economic cost that will hamstring the nation unless something is done about it, not just one day soon, but now.
The idea that unaffordable housing is a threat to business is not so much a radical idea as an absent one. Calling out the suffering of those who are severely housing-burdened or homeless is left almost exclusively to the world of social conscience and social activism. To suggest that it has an essential place in profitable business may encourage (always) business-friendly governments to take action towards dealing with a worldwide crisis.
You can get a free read about Give Me Shelter in The Sydney Morning Herald: Lack of affordable housing set to cost Australia $25b a year
As well, the Housing All Australians website provides information about the extreme, and inevitable business costs that will ensue from unaffordable/no housing. A webinar about the report is scheduled for August 2, from 1 to 2 p.m AEST. For more on the webinar and the report, see: Give Me Shelter
