Postwar Lessons: Australia's Housing Crisis

0:00Home was camps are popping up across Australia, as housing gets tougher to afford, with folks doubling up in free campgrounds and family sleeping. Rough. It's echoing the post-World War II era when shortages hit hard, leaving nearly a million people without proper homes and sparking tent cities. Nationwide. Back then, Australia faced a deficit of 300,000 homes, so shanty towns and makeshift shelters sprang up on city edges from Sydney to Brisbane. In Brisbane alone, the city needed 13,500 more houses for its 380,000 residents, leading to 11, and formal camps, many and old military sites. Conditions were rough, with no running water and carousine stoves causing outbreaks like gastroenteritis that hospitalized dozens of kids, killing. 14 in 1947. Public outcry shifted governments from threats of eviction to providing water, toilets, and even tents, while councils today face backlash for, destroying belongings, including a human rights win against one Queensland eviction.

1:04What turned it around was massive public investment state housing authorities built modern homes at scale, funding 20 to 30% of new. Construction, compared to just 1 or 2% now. They doubled the building workforce through migration, and gave loans to camp residents for homes on the same sites. These history lessons hit home today, people will improvise shelter no matter what. Governments flip between tolerance and crackdowns, but the real. Fix demands ramped up public housing supply to match that post-war boom. That wraps Adelaide News today brought to you with AI.