Housing goes empty
There has been much written about housing supply shortages and affordability of late.
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I write to debunk the myth that there is a housing shortage at all. Recently we had a federal minister suggest that at least 50 per cent of new units must be sold to Australian residents. This would suggest that in the past well over 50 per cent have been purchased by foreign passport holders. These new owners don't need to rent them out as rental income is well behind capital growth, and they are merely investing to avoid the rules of their home country.
There is no shortage of units, many are locked up so no one can use them. Given that Australian residents are the ones most needy, no overseas purchases should be allowed. Try doing it in Indonesia, China or even France for that matter.
To build single occupancy dwellings (houses) to keep up with the demand driven by 100,000 people entering Australia each year (this translates to 1000 per week in Sydney) would lead to mass clearing of land surrounding cities. Melbourne is bleeding out into farmland, Sydney opens new estates in Crown land. This is totally unsustainable.
This brings me to the Shoalhaven and other coastal areas. The majority of houses in Narrawallee, Mollymook, Dolphin Point, Conjola etc. are holiday homes (14,000 in the Shoalhaven).
There is no housing shortage here, they are just holiday homes locked up by rich people for a few weeks of holiday pleasure time. Meanwhile we bulldoze trees and destroy habitat at a great rate to create more blocks for more holiday homes.
It's madness. Penalise those overseas owners with large tax hikes for unused properties, restrict overseas buyers to the minimum and penalise holiday home owners. Free up these locked up extravagances for people who need them.
F. Woodward, Mollymook
Meat kills as well
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared 31 May "World No Tobacco Day". Bravo! We've known about the link between smoking and cancer for more than 60 years, and any opportunity to remind people to quit is welcome.
But let's not forget that meat, which is much more widely consumed than cigarettes, can also be deadly. The WHO ranks processed meats as group 1 carcinogens – bacon, ham, and sausages are now in the same category as asbestos, alcohol, arsenic, and tobacco as a major cause of cancer, while red meat more generally is in the 2A "probably carcinogenic" category. The International Agency for Research on Cancer concluded that each 50-gram portion of processed meat eaten daily increases a person's risk of developing colorectal cancer by 18 per cent. Research also shows meat-eaters are about 40 per cent more likely to get cancer than people who eat plant-based foods.
Millions of people have improved their health and longevity by quitting smoking, and millions more would live longer and better if they gave up processed and other meats. They would help end the confinement, torment, and killing of billions of sentient creatures each year for a taste sensation that lasts no longer than a smoke.
L. Weyman-Jones, PETA Australia
Keep cats indoors
I have just returned from a visit to the local vet. I was handed a ringtail possum today. She had been attacked by a cat and was suffering from broken bones, puncture wounds, shock and dehydration. She died just as I got her to the vet. She was killed by a cat that doesn't know any better.
Dog owners are not allowed to let their dogs run free, the owner will be fined if this is the case. No such laws apply to cats. We are responsible to take steps, as cat owners, to prevent our native wildlife from becoming victims of cat attacks. Keep your cats inside at night.