Welcome to Eureka Street

back to site

Keywords: Affordability

  • AUSTRALIA

    Who benefits from Olympic billions?

    • Sarah Klenbort
    • 07 February 2023
    4 Comments

    As Brisbane prepares to host the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics, housing affordability remains a pressing issue. With more residents now facing homelessness, the question arises: with vast amounts of taxpayer money being spent on Olympics infrastructure, how will Brisbane address the homelessness crisis?

    READ MORE
  • AUSTRALIA

    The Australian housing crisis: A Roundtable

    • David Halliday, Peter Mares, John Falzon, Nicola Nemaric, Rae Dufty-Jones
    • 18 November 2022
    1 Comment

    Despite rising interest rates and the recent dip in property values, Australia’s housing situation places it among the least affordable property market in the world. With a rise in homelessness and younger Australians locked out of an inflated housing market, what is the way forward for Australia? 

    READ MORE
  • AUSTRALIA

    When victory for the silent is defeat for the silenced

    • Anthony N Castle
    • 18 May 2022
    8 Comments

    I was invited to a party the night of the 2019 election. The night’s entertainment was invite-only, with long tables of bread and wine, and I stepped back from the sounds of celebration to hear the political coverage on my phone. Standing at the far window, I looked up to see people in the night below, out in the dark, silent. Behind me a party guest shouted over the noise ‘what happened?’ I looked away from those outside and answered: a loss.

    READ MORE
  • AUSTRALIA

    Fighting identities: Polarisation, nihilism, and the collapse of online discourse

    • Ben Rich
    • 17 February 2022
    11 Comments

    Today we see a resurgence of digital tribalism, a glorification of disingenuous engagement online and humiliating those of a different perspective. Everywhere we see simplistic and belligerent narratives of ‘us versus them’ over more nuanced explanations that might impart a greater sense of shared humanity and common purpose. So what happened?

    READ MORE
  • ECONOMICS

    We need to rebuild our social foundations

    • John Falzon
    • 15 June 2021
    4 Comments

    Our economy is 1.1 per cent larger than a year ago. Yet, as the situation in Victoria reminded us, none of us are safe unless all of us are safe. And we cannot be safe while work remains increasingly insecure, while social security payments are inadequate and while our public infrastructure is found wanting.

    READ MORE
  • AUSTRALIA

    Are we all in this together?

    • Ursula Stephens
    • 01 April 2021
    1 Comment

      At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the government reassured Australia ‘We’re all in this together’ but the truth is that the end of JobKeeper and the Coronavirus supplement payments will leave more than 2.6 million people in poverty.

    READ MORE
  • AUSTRALIA

    The digital divide in a new normal

    • Nicola Heath
    • 23 February 2021
    3 Comments

    For those of us who already regularly shopped, banked, studied and worked via the Internet, it was easy to adapt to telehealth appointments with doctors and video calls with friends and family. Of course, these activities require access to the Internet — something 2.5 million Australians are without. A further 4 million access the Internet solely using a mobile connection. For these citizens, the pandemic exacerbated the existing digital divide.

    READ MORE
  • EDUCATION

    Digital divide made even wider in COVID-19 times

    • Nicola Heath
    • 27 March 2020
    9 Comments

    A laptop or tablet and the internet are not universally available to Australian students. In 2016-17, 1.25 million Australian households lacked the internet home connection that’s required to make full use of online learning platforms like Class Dojo, where my daughter’s class is congregating during the coronavirus lockdown.

    READ MORE
  • AUSTRALIA

    Inmate internet access more than a prison perk

    • Nicola Heath
    • 10 October 2019
    7 Comments

    For a nation with such a significant convict history, Australians take a peculiarly puritanical approach to prisoner welfare. Punishment, not rehabilitation, is often viewed as the point of the justice system. We take a very dim view of anything that could be construed as a prisoner perk. One such perceived privilege is access to the internet.

    READ MORE
  • AUSTRALIA

    Facts belie positive spin on homelessness

    • Eliza Berlage
    • 18 July 2019
    4 Comments

    Housing Minister Luke Howarth came under fire for saying he wanted to put a 'positive spin' on homelessness, but worse than his comments is the misinformation. While his claim that 'half a per cent of the population don't have a permanent roof over their head' is correct, that still means one in 200 Australians is experiencing homelessness.

    READ MORE
  • AUSTRALIA

    A close encounter with our ill health system

    • Daniel Sleiman
    • 03 July 2019
    10 Comments

    When I found myself facing the prospect of thyroid surgery, I had two options: either I could get it done for free through Medicare or privately at a cost of $11,000. I've been reflecting again on that choice in light of the recent criticism of 'celebrity' brain surgeon Charlie Teo. Australia's healthcare system is not as egalitarian as we think it is.

    READ MORE
  • AUSTRALIA

    Budget enshrines neglect of older women

    • Rosie Williams
    • 12 April 2019
    2 Comments

    Women's groups were initially cut out of this year's budget lockup with just two representatives admitted after fighting tooth-and-nail for the privilege. With such hostility to our cause it is hardly surprising to find the budget holds little hope for women in resolving the structural inequalities baked into our lives.

    READ MORE
Join the conversation. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter  Subscribe