EDITORIAL: Our housing market is a mess and it needs to be sorted

We’re safe from COVID-19, or close enough, now we need to turn our attention to the major issues in the state, like fixing our dire housing market and making rentals affordable, writes Jenna Cairney.

• Eviction-free period for renters to end
• ‘Teacher’s vile act couldn’t silence me’

WE ARE fast heading towards the time we’ve all dreaded.

While we’re not entirely out of the danger zone for COVID-19 outbreaks, we have stabilised for now.

That means we’re close to witnessing just how significant the economic ramifications of the coronavirus pandemic have been on Tasmanians.

When it comes to Tasmania’s housing market, there is no denying it was an absolute mess before a killer virus turned our way of life upside down.

Hobart has previously been dubbed Australia’s most expensive capital, and the downward pressure on tenants led to our most vulnerable people looking for shelter.

The median rent for all dwellings in Hobart was $440 at the end of June, an unaffordable proposition for many, and a long way from November 2016 when median rent in the state’s capital was $357.

Midway Point aerial.

Due to high rents, lower income Tasmanians have been pushed from the private rental market into social and community housing, which has in turn put downward pressure on an already struggling sector.

House prices are through the roof for those wanting to enter the market.

In fact, the latest CoreLogic Property Market indicator shows the median house price in Hobart at January 10 was $590,000 – fourth behind Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra. The January figure compared with a Hobart median of around $570,000 in December. The popularity of short-term accommodation platforms such as Airbnb is attractive to property owners looking to make more money out of their asset.

According to a Consumer, Building and Occupational Services report released in February 2020, there were 5487 properties listed as short-term accommodation premises. In short, we have a major problem on our hands.

All levels of government have been generous in their measures to protect Australians from the economic impacts of the pandemic.

But at some point the fiscal support will be wound back.

The Tasmanian Government put in place measures designed to protect those living in rental properties.

It introduced a moratorium on evictions and rental increases. The government continued to extend this moratorium until yesterday.

The issue with the measure was that it was the individual landlord and not the government that was providing the safety net for tenants.

And the big fear was that landlords upset and out of pocket due to the government shifting the goalposts on them may exit the rental market, exacerbating the situation.

As measures are wound back, it’s crucial people aren’t allowed to fall through the cracks. While we hope that landlords will do the right thing by ordinarily good tenants and not take advantage and unnecessarily raise rents, it’s the job of the government and not the individual to finance those who need additional support.

Australia Day awards see most courageous honoured

Monday, January 24

ON August 12, 2019, the Mercury’s front page carried the image of a courageous young Tasmanian woman staring defiantly at the camera lens — and declared: “My name is Grace Tame, and I am Jane Doe.”

The Mercury’s front page on August 12, 2019.

Today, just 17 months later, Ms Tame wakes as Australia’s 75th Australian of the Year — a tribute to her remarkable bravery, and the extraordinary campaign that led to her story being used as the catalyst for the removal of a law that dictated that any victim of a sexual crime was silenced forever unless a Supreme Court judge determined they could tell it.

At 15, Ms Tame endured what no child should have to.

Not only was she groomed and her virginity stolen from her by a paedophile teacher, she had to fight to tell her story publicly.

Grace Tame’s abuser was able to speak publicly about his abuse many times, but Ms Tame was left effectively voiceless.

Her case was a catalyst for freelance journalist Nina Funnell forming the #Let­HerSpeak campaign in partnership with the Mercury, Marque Lawyers, End Rape On Campus Australia and news.com.au.

Due to the campaign, the archaic gag laws in Tasmania and the Northern Territory were both amended in 2020 and last year the campaign was expanded to challenge recently introduced sexual assault victim gag laws in Victoria.

That work is ongoing.

That the Australian of the Year awards recognises the courage of Ms Tame is not just important and fitting recognition for her struggle, but it is a win for all survivors.

CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA - NewsWire Photos JANUARY 25, 2021: Tasmania Australian of the Year: Grace Tame, advocate for survivors of sexual assault and #LetHerSpeak campaigner arrives at the The 2021 Australian of the Year Awards ceremony at the National Arboretum, Canberra. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

The reason Ms Tame wanted to share her story was to help educate the public, particularly around the issue of grooming.

She also wanted to remind survivors that their voices matter. “You will be heard. It’s not your fault. We believe you,” she said at an awards ceremony in 2019.

Ms Tame is not the only Tasmanian victim to speak publicly.

At 17, Tameka Ridgeway survived an unimaginable attack at the hands of Jamie John Curtis and an accomplice.

The two men broke into her Glenorchy home. They tortured, abducted and eventually killed Tameka’s fiance and raped, assaulted and abducted Tameka.

The change to legislation allowed Tameka to tell her story for the first time in the Mercury last year and she used her voice to plead for Curtis to remain incarcerated.

In 2018 the parole board noted Curtis still displayed a “high number of psychopathic traits” which “cannot be cured”, but went on to praise his “polite and courteous” engagement with prison staff.

He was released but detained again within months after he set up prohibited accounts on dating sites. He’ll be free within days and his release will not just panic his victim, but is of extreme concern to the broader community.