Critics slam Louise Elliot’s ‘shanty towns’ plan
Critics have accused a Hobart landlord lobbyist of trying to profiteer off Hobart’s housing crisis by building wheeled “shanty towns” in the inner city.
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Critics have accused landlord lobbyist Louise Elliot of trying to profiteer off Hobart’s housing crisis by building wheeled “shanty towns” in the inner city.
Their harsh criticisms come in response to a joint venture between Ms Elliot and Hobart City Councillor Jeff Briscoe to build a tiny homes foundation.
Ms Elliot has struck back at the criticism, saying they were tearing down a positive idea to bring much-needed housing into the inner city.
The tentatively named Wanda Foundation would receive money from private investors to build wheeled homes to be rolled out onto Hobart’s neglected plots of land.
The landowners would allow the foundation to use the land for free and the investors would take most of the profits from the rent.
Hobartians Against Homelessness founder Kate Kelly said this seemed like a cynical profitmaking exercise, rather than a genuine attempt to solve the housing crisis.
Ms Kelly said property speculators were largely responsible for the housing crisis in the first place, and stood to gain even more from this foundation.
“Good ideas die on the sword of vested interests, and in the absence of countering evidence that’s what this looks like,” Ms Kelly said.
“Rather than setting up a shanty town of tiny houses in the middle of the city, it might be more prudent to think about how we can change the existing zoning and permits for private land.”
Hobart City Council candidate Ryan Posselt is another housing advocate and Hobart City Council candidate who is highly critical of the Wanda Foundation.
Mr Posselt said some of the figures Ms Elliot was bandying about were alarming, since they implied a huge amount of profit squeezed out of a tiny amount of space.
Ms Elliot said that tiny houses would cost around $140,000 each, charge about $200 per week in rent, and house up to 150 people in the Melville Street UTAS car park.
Going by Ms Elliot’s figures, Mr Posselt said the profit margins would be several orders of magnitude higher than a typical inner city rental property.
Additionally, he said it was worrying that Ms Elliot was trying to fit up to 150 people in a car park with only around 110 spaces – all while paying nothing for the land.
“These people deserve better. They deserve to have a place that they can call home, a space they can love and cherish,” Mr Posselt said.
“There are much better options available that will achieve similar results and don’t cram everybody into a small space.”
Ms Elliot acknowledged this idea would generate profits for investors, but that it would also benefit renters, taxpayers and Hobart in general.
“So what if there’s a good return? What’s the harm in a win-win-win scenario?” Ms Elliot said.
“Their criticism is unwarranted and unfair. This is a positive contribution to a big problem, and if you want to bag out a win-win-win scenario, show us your idea.”
Ms Elliot said if this foundation went ahead she would likely invest in some tiny homes herself.
kenji.sato@news.com.au
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