City Limits - Widening inequality and instability in housing

This week, Kevin and Meg talk to Shane McGrath from Housing for the Aged Action Group, then with Cathryn Murdoch and Jack Verdins from Friends of Public Housing and Defend and Extend Public Housing. With Shane we discuss the flood of eviction applications to VCAT following the end to the eviction moratorium, no further protections (save for a few narrowly-targeted grants) for Victorian renters suffering the financial fallout of the pandemic, and the direct transfer of money from the public to the private sector and its success in lining the pockets of wealthy investors in the housing sector. We finish up this interview with a critique 2021 rental reforms and how it's just a small part of the problem that forces people into poverty.Later we talk to Cathryn and Jack about the difference of the Victorian Government's more recent response to a positive COVID case in public housing estates, the government's inability to address comorbid issues affecting people during this time, so-called not-for-profits exploiting housing instability, and how public housing should be widely available to anybody who asks for it.If you're an older Victorian with a housing issue, you can still call HAAG toll-free on 1300 765 178 or visit their website here.