Author(s): Kevin Bell

Politics

Housing: the Great Australian Right argues that governments have the capacity and the power toresolve this national plight. The first step is for Australia to rethink its approach to housing policy andrecognise access to housing - having a home - as a fundamental human right.The current crisis can be traced back to when growing the property market and treating housing asan investment became the dominant considerations, with the welfare of people relegated to adistant second. This order must now be reversed, beginning with making the human right to housingthe central focus of the system. This will require profound changes to government policy,administration and legislation, to be fuelled by reimagining 'the great Australian dream' of housingas 'the great Australian right' to housing.