AN OPEN LETTER TO AUSTRALIAN COUNCILS, INCLUDING SUNSHINE COAST COUNCIL ... PLUS THE TASMANIAN MINISTER FOR HOUSING, CITY OF LAUNCESTON COUNCIL,ET AL

As someone who works full time in the Tiny House industry, I wanted to offer a perspective on the impact of this industry on the housing crisis that you may not otherwise have access to.

There’s a LOT happening behind the scenes with dozens of councils right now. Some have just opened their doors to Tiny House residents , like Esperance (WA), Mount Alexander Shire (Vic), and Surf Coast (also Vic). Others are currently revisiting their planning guidelines with a view to allowing Tinies for long term occupation.

But still more are sitting back waiting and watching what other councils are doing, trying to decide when might be a suitable time to start seriously considering Tinies as living options also. It’s why you joined this group, isn’t it?

I’m here to tell you- THAT TIME IS NOW.

I am just one of the key figures in the industry who hear real life stories daily of those struggling with housing insecurity. These aren’t small numbers- and I’m just one of the touch points these people have!

Homelessness is no longer purely the plight of the minority, the unemployed or people struggling with addiction.

The worst housing crisis Australia has ever seen is primarily affecting women.

I’ve spoken with HUNDREDS of single mums, semi/retired women and divorcees whose main focus every day is ensuring they have a stable roof over their heads beyond next week.

These women are being told by government departments to register for public housing, where even “high priority” cases are sometimes waiting more than FIVE YEARS for a home!

In the meantime, governments have no issue with you living in a tent, or your car. Can you imagine getting dressed and ready for work in the backseat of your Hyundai every morning?

But if you’re one of the ones resourceful enough to buy a Tiny House or a caravan to house yourself, you’re evicted very publicly, like you’re a criminal for daring come up with your own solution, and told to register for public housing.

This is NOT OK.

Tiny Houses may not be a long term or forever solution to the housing epidemic for every single person, but when they’re right here right now providing safe shelter to TENS OF THOUSANDS, myself and many of my friends included, how can you deny them?

WHAT IF- in your next election campaign, you could tell voters that you enabled homes for THOUSANDS of vulnerable community members- at ZERO COST to the taxpayer?

If you’re looking to secure your political future and stay in office long enough to make lasting change- the decision you have the opportunity to make here is a no-brainer.

Mount Alexander Shire Council last month made the landmark decision to allow residents to live in a Tiny House permanently, with no permit requirement, on private land where there is an existing primary dwelling (read about it here: https://bit.ly/LocalLaw13)

Mayor Rosie Annear has stated “A lot of us on the council couldn’t live with ourselves if we didn’t do something to try to make things better.”

Your constituents (ie the people who pay your salary) deserve your compassion, not the big stick.

You have the power to change TENS of thousands of lives with one simple, cost-free decision. You have the power to be a shining example for other councils, and demonstrate what true leadership really means.

You joined council to make a positive impact on the world.

NOW is the chance of a lifetime to do just that.

Please take it

xBry

PSA FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC

* I understand your frustrations where councils are concerned, but please refrain from attacking them in comments. Compassion and education will lead the way, not blame and hatred

* Please tag your local councillor and invite them to the group/page for awareness

SOURCE: ... Quote and interview from Mayor Annear www.abc.net.au

SOURCE: ... https://blog.aussietinyhouses.com.au/how-to-manage-council-regulations-around-tiny-houses/

SOURCE: ... https://www.surfcoast.vic.gov.au/About-us/News-and-media/Latest-news/Council-to-trial-domestic-use-of-tiny-houses-on-wheels

ACCOUNTABILITY FOR LOCAL GOVERNANCE

 

PLEASE CLICK ON AN IMAGE TO ENLARGE

INVITATION

kanamalukaTAMAR bottling

Help spread the word worldwide about its attributes just so as there is no doubt whatsoever about the qualities it has and that are so well understood by the community within which it flows. 

The water is what it is and the whole wide world should know just what that is!

 Watch this space as those qualities are revealed from official records. 

Become a CITIZENscientist NOW

If you wish to become an offical 'bottler' please email:

•  Dr T Alen LAUNCESRONprojectsn@bigpond.com

PUBLIC SERVICE BULLING IS A MUCH BIGGER ISSUE THAN WE THINK

 NB: This is just the tip of the iceberg and the knock effects are horrible and most of us are paying for it and worst still paying the extraordinary salaries of the bullies most of whom are teflon coated.

One in five state servants say they have been bullied at work in the last 12 months and more than 200 have been sexually harassed, according to a “distressing” new survey. 

Almost 10,000 workers responded to the Tasmanian State Service Employee Survey 2023, or 29 per cent of the total workforce. ......................... The survey, which has been conducted every two years but will now be undertaken annually, ran from March 7-28 and all employees were invited to take part in it. ......................... Community and Public Sector Union general secretary Thirza White said the results were “distressing” and “concerning”. ......................... “The most striking observation is that despite previous surveys noting serious concerns in areas such as bullying and sexual harassment, little has improved,” she said. ......................... Of those who responded to the survey, 29 per cent were male, 68 per cent were female, and 1 per cent identified as ‘other’, while 2 per cent preferred not to disclose their gender. ......................... CPSU General Secretary Thirza White. Picture: Chris Kidd......................... Asked whether they had experienced workplace bullying in the last 12 months, 21 per cent of employees said yes, 75 per cent said no, and 4 per cent said they were unsure. ......................... This compares to 21 per cent saying they had been bullied in the 2020 survey, and 23 per cent in 2018. ......................... Of the workers who said they were bullied, 39 per cent reported being bullied by a fellow worker, 32 per cent by an immediate manager/supervisor and 28 per cent by a senior manager. ......................... The most common bullying behaviours identified were intimidation (51 per cent) and exclusion/isolation (47 per cent). ......................... For the third consecutive survey, 61 per cent of respondents who had experienced bullying did not report the behaviour, with the key reasons being that they “did not think any action would be taken” (56 per cent), it could “affect my career” (38 per cent), and “managers accepted the behaviour” (36 per cent). ......................... There were 202 public servants who said they had been sexually harassed at work in the last 12 months, equating to 2 per cent of the total respondents, as was also the case in 2020 and 2018. ......................... Again, workers were reluctant to report the behaviour, with 70 per cent saying they had opted against it. ......................... Executive Building, Murry St Hobart. Premiers and government offices. Tasmania. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Richard Jupe Asked whether they agreed or disagreed with the statement, ‘I am confident that I would be protected from reprisal for reporting improper conduct”, 51 per cent of respondents said they agreed and 23 per cent said they disagreed. ......................... Ms White said the Commission of Inquiry into the Tasmanian government’s responses to child sexual abuse in institutional settings had “exposed a multitude of failings in the complaints process yet nothing has been changed”. ......................... “What are we waiting for?” she said. ......................... A State Service spokeswoman said the survey showed employees were “increasingly confident to report negative or inappropriate behaviour”. ......................... “No bullying is OK and we want our employees to feel confident and safe to report bullying,” she said. ......................... Claims poor culture behind staff exodus at racing watchdog ......................... “This annual survey is an important mechanism to get feedback from the State Service employees about issues that matter to our workforce.” ......................... The spokeswoman said numerous actions were being taken to improve workplace culture across the public service.

A SPECIES THAT SHOULD GO EXTINCT QUICKLY

 

IF you can name and shame them what is holding you back?

Launceston celebrates the thylacine's extinction and the Tasmanian emu’s extinction was launched from Launceston and goodness knows what else. But you can bet these reprobates will be fed and kept fat at the taxpayers’ expense while people suffer.

NOT McBURBIA

 

https://www.archdaily.com/783980/brooklyn-garden-studio-hunt-architecture

The end of the mythical quarter-acre block April 9, 2005 

 

WARNING THIS IS VERY, VERY OLD NEWS ... Australians want to live on quarter-acre blocks, and like to drive their cars, Michael Costa, the Roads Minister, said recently. And he berated the assembled urban planners for being fixated on public transport. ............................. When politicians talk up Australians' devotion to the quarter-acre, beware. It is usually a way to deflect blame for urban problems such as air pollution and traffic congestion onto us. It is their excuse to do nothing. If only Australians weren't wedded to the quarter-acre, they imply, politicians could curb suburban sprawl, build rail lines, and reduce air pollution. But darn it, the people rule. ............................. It is this archaic view of what Australians want that is ruining our cities. It provides the justification to build another freeway, scrap plans for train lines, and mock proposals for light rail ... CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

DESIGN SAVYNESS ... IS ANYONE UP FOR IT OR UP TO IT?

 

JUST IMAGINE if the functionaries at a TOWN HALL could just envision that an architect with DESIGNsavy was a MUNICIPALarchitect for a jurisdiction rather than some functionary disinclined to engage with the community for fear that she/he might STUFFup thinking outside the box.

PERHAPS, more importantly those who are elected to represent the aspirations of networks of communities that are not by necessity consistent with their own life experiences might be asked to consider thinking outside the box.

Here is an exemplar of intelligent design that could be adapted to multiple situations. More to the point there is evidence of an intellect at work. Sure the person involved lives somewhere else and apparently engaged in 'placemaking'. SO!!??

YEP the sun would continue to come up and the sky would not fall in!

EVEN IN A CLIMATE EMERGENCY OR EVEN A STRESSFUL HOUSING SITUATION

IF ONLY LAUNCESTON COUNCIL'S ADMINISTRATION & COUNCILLORS WERE NOT ANTI-DESIGN, ANTI-ARCHITECT!

Longs Peak Privies by the MArch Colorado Building Workshop students

"Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park is one of the most frequented peaks in the State of Colorado that is more than 14,000 feet high. But since backcountry toilets were installed on the trail in 1983, the technology has deteriorated in the harsh climate to the point that waste now has to be removed by shovel, placed into five-gallon buckets and carried down the mountain using llamas.

"We collaborated with the National Park Service to design and construct new backcountry privies using lightweight prefabricated construction and emerging methods of waste collection to minimise the human footprint in Colorado's backcountry.

"The final design consists of prefabricated, structural gabion walls. Within the gabions, thin steel plate moment frames triangulate the lateral loads within the structure while stones, collected on-site, are used as ballast. This innovative assembly allows for rapid on-site construction and an architecture that disappears into the surrounding landscape."

Project website: coloradobuildingworkshop.cudenvercap.org
Studio: Studio 4: Design-Build
Tutors: Rick Sommerfeld and Will Koning

....

You must develop trust within your organization to create a fearless mentality that is supportive, aligned and collaborative.

Shawn Johnson 

Emotional intelligence, more than any other factor, more than I.Q. or expertise, accounts for 85% to 90% of success at work… I.Q. is a threshold competence. You need it, but it doesn’t make you a star. Emotional intelligence can.  

Warren G. Bennis   

We should use our opinions to start 

discussions, not to end them.

 Madeleine Albright, 

THE ADAMS COMMENTARY

 

COMMENT
 
Professor David Adams
 
LAST week the prospective Launceston
Mayors met at a forum at Boags sponsored
by the Chamber of Commerce and the
Examiner.
 
Andrea Dawkins, Tim Walker, Alan
Harris, Matthew Garwood and, George
Razay all came across as very committed
people genuinely aiming to improve the lot
of Launceston. They all engaged as if they
really wanted the job.
 
Tim Walker and Andrea Dawkins present-
ed as the most experienced hands. Matthew
Garwood despite the L plates was articulate
and confident as was George Razay who
looked in his element in front of an audi-
ence. Alan Harris highlighted his focus on
small business and being the all-round local
guy. The candidates all played it safe with
the majority of their claims appealing to
voters to trust them because of their various
trackrecords. The responses to the six
questions were varied but predictable with
Tim Walker's idea to resurrect tramways a
notable creative exception.
 
Economic development was not explored
and key economic words such as produc-
tivity, innovation and growth were few and
far between. Globally the trend for local
government leaders is towards people have
high adaptive capacity, able to pivot and
lead when a shock like COVID 19 comes
along. Such leadership capabilities were not
part of the discussion.
The candidates danced around local
government reform. All the scenarios being
proposed for our region involved Launces-
ton 'consolidating' with various urban
and regional communities and essentially
making the Tamar Valley and Kalamaluka
the centrepiece. No one discussed this in
their main 'pitch'. Most of the conversation
was very Launceston centric.
The candidates also did a quick step
around the biggest issue for business, plan-
ning reform. Local government is all about
allocating scarce resources between many
competing wants but none of the candidates
explained how they would deal with the
inevitable trade-offs for example between
heritage and development.
 
There was minimal focus on the role of the
Council in cultural development a passion
of the previous Mayor Danny Gibson.
The candidates all seemed strongest on
social issues and had a variety of sensible
comments to make on homelessness
challenges. Refreshingly the candidates all
seemed willing to learn from best practices
elsewhere around the world.
 
The Examiner 4th July Page 14

LINKS

[ 1 ] - [2]

LOCAL GOVERNANCE IS FUNDAMENTALLY 

ABOUT PLACEMAKING

HOUSES OR HOMES? WHO IS ASKING?

 

In today's Examiner Andrew Mitchell has every reason to be deeply troubled by the acting mayor's prejudices in regard to "homelessness". The troubling dismissive attitude sadly reflects Launceston Town Hall's bureaucratic disconnect and the underlying status quoism to be found there.

Talking authoritatively about a cohort of people deemed to be choosing to be "homeless" is both silly and misinformed. 

Firstly this 'homelessness' apparently offends those in authority, who for the most part it is troubling that some choose to live 'outside the system' – that social order that they assume empowers them and that feeds them. 

It is the system that gives 'authoritative bureaucrats and politicians' their power and status, their generous incomes and by extension it becomes their 'reason for being' – on the gravy train as it all too often turns out to be.

Yes there are people living without 'houses', people for whom 'home' is at no fixed address, people who find living on 'the street and other obscure places' for however long, as an agreeable way of being in the world. They are not charity cases unless 'the system' abuses them for their 'differentness', albeit that they are very small cohort of people.

Firstly, we need to stop talking about 'homelessness' when what we need to be doing is acknowledging the inequities in 'the system' that places people in 'housing stress'. 

Characterizing people who are 'at home' outside the system as homeless is misinformed, discriminatory and quite likely it is blind to the realities. Here, thinking about all this metaphorically as a kind of 'colour blindness' may help. No matter how well you describe RED to a colour blind person they will never ever be able to see it.

Moreover, to start to punish these people for failing to meet the political and bureaucratic expectations of 'the authorities' is nothing less than abusive, discriminatory 'rankism' – and by extension it becomes bureaucratic bullying.

Without the shadow of a doubt the issues to hand are complex and they requires the full attention of elected representatives and those they employ as public servants,

The City of Launceston's responsibility for addressing 'housing stress' is palpable and the implementation of effective strategies and the provision of effective support isn't anything that Councillors can walk away from. Yet, generally speaking, they are clearly walking away and as it seems, as decently as is possible so to do. However, there is no escaping into the dark.

Local governance is not alone and if we look hard enough the Tasmanian government, apparently it cannot see what issues are causing what outcomes. They are falling into the 'Einstein insanity trap', doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome.

Housing stress is influenced by a myriad factors such as economic distress, mental and physical health issues, family breakdowns, and the lack of houses available for 'home making'. 

Thinking that people who deliberately choose to be without 'real estate' – houseless not homeless –  it represents a serious social cum cultural disconnect that might be on one hand just be a very naive 'misunderstanding' . Nevertheless, on the other hand there is no escaping the fact that it does stigmatise a small group of people for whom 'home' is not a house, not a viable investment, not anything to do with their way of being in the world. They are not wrong or delinquent, they are who they are exercising their political freedom and a cultural reality. 

Tasmania's 'political class' needs to reflect upon the impact of their inept understandings and educate themselves about the realities of experiencing housing stress. We need to call upon all involved to prioritise dealing with 'housing stress' as a critical issue and put realistic strategies in place to both address the symptoms and their drivers with compassion and determination.

Tasmania/Launceston deserves leaders and bureaucratic functionaries who posses moral compasses, and who are committed to social justice, and are willing to collaborate and embrace change. Access to spaces and places that provide safe shelters for and 'homemaking' is a human right and it is not anything that should be 'investment driven'.

Local governance's primary purpose is all to do with placemaking and when it strays its constituencies suffer all manner of untoward outcomes.

We all might take some solace in the words of the Dalai Lama, who is known to have said: “Home is where you feel at home and are treated well.”

UKRAINE SOLIDARITY

 

ASK A COUNCILLOR TODAY

HOUSING STRESS AND THE LACK OF URGENCY

VERY INTERESTING READING IN LAUNCESTON!

Glenorchy deputy mayor Sue Hickey says there is not enough urgency to house Tasmania’s homeless population, as Homes Tasmania releases its draft housing strategy. 

Councils have been invited to weigh in on Homes Tasmania’s draft housing strategy. ................... Glenorchy Council officers said the plan lacked detail, including on exactly how it would address the housing need for women and children. Ms Hickey said that wasn’t the only thing missing. ................... “It had all these lovely pretty photos but it didn’t have any of the realities … It’s a very professional document, but it doesn’t have a real sense of urgency,” Ms Hickey said. ................... “We need to acknowledge we haven’t got housing right. ................... “It’s not just about building houses but repairing and maintaining stock.” ................... Glenorchy City Council deputy mayor Sue Hickey. Picture: Richard Jupe ................... Ms Hickey said she hadn’t noticed an improvement to Hobart’s housing and homelessness problem. ................... “The problems existed for a decade, but it hit its peak in 2018 when we had the tent city at the showgrounds,” she said. ................... “I was a bit disappointed since 2018 there hasn’t been this collective momentum to keep the government to account on its social responsibility. “I walk around sometimes in the city early in the morning and there are people sleeping on the streets, more than I’ve ever seen. They’re mainly young people.” ................... Ms Hickey said Tasmania was the only state which didn’t have a code blue policy, which provides homeless people with access to overnight accommodation during extreme weather events. ................... “We have plenty of community spaces which could be activated quickly in the event of emergency weather,” Ms Hickey said. “Local government’s more than happy to work with state government but it can’t do it alone.” ................... A Home Tasmania spokesperson said the priority was to build more homes, which wasn’t dependent on the strategy. ................... “Homes Tasmania’s priority is to continue to deliver housing opportunities that meet the diverse needs of Tasmanians, including immediate shelter for people sleeping rough through to assistance for people to make home ownership a reality,” they said. ................... Revealed: How wealthy Tassie Airbnb owners really are “Through Homes Tasmania, the Tasmanian Government is developing a 20-year Housing Strategy to improve the sustainability of our entire housing system, including the builds we already have in train. ................... “The draft Strategy aims to create a more equitable housing system for all Tasmanians and is currently open for consultation. This is the second round of consultation which follows extensive consultation on a discussion paper in late 2022.” [??]

COMMENT: On the evidence thus far, HOMES TASMANIA appears to be seeking an outcome which is analogous to Ronald Regan’s STATUS QUOI – “You know the status quo is Latin for the mess we are in” – with a band-aid here, a stitch there and a patch over there. What it presents as solution options have been formulated in the dark well away from any deliberative critical discourse with ‘the community’ where the expertise actually is! 

 This call for COMMUNITY INPUT fails the credibility test, and the PUBtest too, in that it essentially is going on behind doors in order that the CHERRYpicking in the service of status quoism can go on without being exposed to anything like an incisive critical deliberations that might well go on in an open discourse. 

Nothing is impossible, but no matter how fast you run, catching a mirage is an impossibility. 

Some quotes to keep in mind: 

•... “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” … Albert Einstein 

•...  “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” … African Proverb 

•...  "There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about." … Margaret J. Wheatley 

•...  “Evil originates not in the absence of guilt; but in our effort to escape it.” ... Shannon L. Alder •

•... “If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything”. … Mark Twain