- The Guardian
- Issue #2045
The NSW Council of Social Service (NCOSS) welcomed the recent announcement by an increasingly desperate NSW Coalition government in election mode, after it committed to reform no-grounds evictions of renters, but warned that further steps are required. An end to no-grounds evictions has long been championed by a range of advocacy groups and NGOs including the Tenants Union of NSW, St Vincent de Paul Society NSW, Shelter NSW, and NCOSS. All major parties have now committed to some form of no-grounds evictions policy. As the peak social services body, NCOSS said, that the ban on no-grounds evictions for periodic leases could make a difference to the lives of people in NSW, but more safeguards are needed. “These changes have the potential to make a difference to those renters in NSW who are on periodic leases,” said NCOSS CEO Joanna Quilty.
“This is a positive step to help some renters improve their access to safe and secure housing. However, our main concern is that this announcement does not go far enough. The commitment does not include fixed-term leases, which is a critical piece of the puzzle if renters are to be given the housing security they so desperately need. As we stated in our policy platform, NCOSS and our members are of the view that no grounds evictions as a whole should be replaced with a range of specified reasonable grounds, and these should be applied to all types of leases. The devil is in the detail and consultation will be required. We will work with our members and partners to ensure the next Parliament implements these announced changes and introduces further measures to protect the rights of renters.”
The Albanese government’s purchase of nuclear-powered submarines from the US will inflate the burgeoning annual $48 billion war budget by tens of billions. The scare campaign targeting China coming out of the Nine newspapers’ CIA pod of journalists – and their hacks in the history rewrite room – are playing their traditional role promoting the conflict agenda of the ruling class. Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ constant economic doomsday chant foretelling hard times for working people were based on the government turning the country into a foreign military base. The fact is, the Australian military hasn’t defended anything Australian in conflict since WW2 – Malaya, Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq – all in service to big powers. The Labor government had clearly been given its orders by its US master before being elected, evidenced by the capering PM’s immediate embrace on coming to office of his fascist counterpart in Ukraine.
PARASITE OF THE WEEK: The context needed for the great benefits touted by the government and their “experts” about the production of weapons of war – prosperity for all if you swallow the hype – is that all the weapons that have ever been made were meant to be used, and at all times have been. Hype cannot accommodate logic.
