https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-08/it-reached-39-degrees-inside-charles-rental-home/102052042
This is absolutely disgusting, and in all the years that I have lived in Australia, that’s 50 years. In all that time neither public or private housing in Australia has ever been built to a decent standard for keeping out the heat or the cold. Back in the 1970 the building industry had the stupidest idea of building west facing houses and not all houses have verandas to keep the hot sun out so that meant boiling hot houses all throughout summer. Only now are they building solar passive housing with smaller windows instead of floor to ceiling windows. I lived in both public and private housing in Scotland that was insulated roof, walls and double glazed with central heating in the 1960’s and 70’s. Now Scotland is a small country with only 5 million people.
Australia has always had a bigger population than Scotland, so that means more tax revenue in each state or territory. Yet this was never seen as important to either the government, landlord or builders. I remember many sleepless nights and unbearable heat during the day indoors in western Sydney through my childhood and as a young woman. Try doing all your housework without a fan in 35 degree heat. Imagine how this heat affects babies, children and the elderly.
God only knows how people on a pension or a low income can survive today in obvious financial distress with the cost of living through the roof and trying to stay cool in the summer and warm in winter. This is actually classed as a human right issue if you care to read up on this. Any changes put into law must be up to what ever the recommendation is to bring living standards up to the required standards for all housing.
Why should financially disadvantaged people have to suffer? Landlords are also known to use rent to pay off their rental properties yet don’t always have the property up to decent living conditions. I have seen rental properties a few years ago when I went with a friend looking for something and this was before the rental crisis. Some of the houses were poorly constructed and illegal structures. And that is here in Canberra which other Australians think is full of rich people. Er no; the majority are not rich in Canberra. Most work in retail, hospitality and the public service and not everyone is on higher ranks. Retail and hospitality is usually not full time, five days per week employment either. The cost of living is high in Canberra depending on where you live and supermarket prices vary depending upon the perceived socioeconomic demographic.
