Squatters' Handbook Chapter 10
Squatting Facts and Figures
Some facts you should know if you are going to start squatting, or someone is squatting in your neighbourhood:
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In the last 14 years, Sydney has experienced an average 200% rise in the price of houses, and a 40% rise in rents per week.
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A 1995 survey by the Sydney City Mission revealed that 665,000 houses in the lowest income bracket in Australia were spending an average of 33.7% of their income on private housing, or between 30% and 50% of their income on communal and sharehouse accommodation. The Ministerial Task Force On Affordable Housing considered 30% of a household’s income as a generous cost benchmark for rents in Sydney.
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According to the Department of Social Security (DSS), now CentreLink, “the availability of affordable housing in all sectors is seen as the single most important issue in reducing the level of homelessness across all sectors of the homeless population”.
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The total homeless population of Australia in 1995 was approximately 40,000. If you were to extend the definition to those paying for accommodation, but whose dwelling is not of a decent standard, lacking in privacy and affordability and autonomy over one’s immediate surroundings, the number would be greatly increased. (Source: DSS.)
Further Reading:
Web Resources
Further Information:
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Cox, Gary, “The Olympics and Housing”, Shelter NSW, UWS, Macarthur, 1994.
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Ministerial Task Force On Affordable Housing, “Affordable Housing in New South Wales: A Need For Action”, Agency Printing, Sydney, 1998.
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Nicholls, Susan, “Report on Current Research into Homelessness (1992–May1997)”, DSS, Sydney, 1998.
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Sydney City Mission, “Shadow People: The Reality of Homelessness in the Nineties”, SCM, Sydney, 1995.
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Urban Frontiers Program research paper, “Squatting: What’s the reality?” May, 2003.
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