Every so often Our Chiefly Leader comes out and proclaims the wonders of his affordable housing programs.
More often than not they mean a few lottery winners get a sweet deal and the rest of the populations has been further shafted.
Last week the Canberra Times ran a story on the ANU’s desperate efforts to find places for all the students it promises accommodation to. Aside from putting up hundreds of students in hotels they’re begging for help:
Pro-vice-chancel lor (students) Professor Elizabeth Deane appealed to students on Wednesday to offer spare rooms in private or share houses to help meet the demand.
University Accommodation Services is running this warning for those students not fortunate enough to be guaranteed:
Due to the high demand for accommodation in Semester 1, if you did not meet the requirements of the accommodation guarantee you need to start sourcing off-campus accommodation now. Offers will continue to be made where vacancies arise due to cancellation; however there is only a small chance of this happening. The private market in Canberra is experiencing heavy demand and the estimated time required to secure accommodation is approximately 2-4 weeks. It is essential to organise temporary accommodation before you arrive. UAS staff can assist you with enquiries about off-campus accommodation. Please see below for more information.
It’s become so bad that informal community networks (rotarians, churches) are billeting out desperate international students foolish enough to enter this circle of hell. (And if certain Stanhopian cheerleaders want to deny that; there’s one in my parent’s spare room right now.)
So now the rents for those of us without a winning ticket in the government housing pools are not only unaffordable, there’s also a failure in market supply.
How much are we spending luring people here again?