The Rental Crisis Out West By Mike Downey
Their ABC has given a realistic portrayal of the housing accommodation crisis out here in Western Australia. Perth's vacancy rate has been around 0.7 per cent for a year, which has led to rental prices soaring. At present the median rent is $ 600 a week, an increase of 20 percent. But wages only grew by 4.6 percent in Western Australia in 2023. Consequently, you have stories like those given below, of people having to live like sardines, if they are lucky. Others just sleep in cars, or sleep rough on the streets. Meanwhile mass immigration continues to allow the corporates to make a killing, and continue the Great Replacement, as your blog argues, and I now agree. Welcome to the Third World, Australia.
This war against traditional Australia will continue, with no opposition, until total extinction occurs. That there are no mass street protests as the French and even Germans do, is almost unbelievable.
"Cody, her mum, siblings, friends, five cats and a dog, are all living at her grandmother's house.
Eight people living under one roof with a single toilet is less than ideal.
But amid a rental crisis, Cody considers herself lucky.
Scrolling real estate on her phone alongside her sister Holly, Cody is trying to find the light side.
"It says 'uniquely designed'," she laughs, pointing at what is on offer in their price range.
"It says 'filled with character'!
"That's when you know they're just trickin' ya."
The 26-year-old retail worker has lost count of the number of applications they have put in, only to be knocked back.
"We've lowered our expectations a lot. If it has a lock on the door and things are not falling apart completely then we will apply," she says.
"It makes us feel depressed, like, what is the point?
"In our generation now, it just seems so out of reach. It feels like we're just watching time tick by.
"It's a real shame."
'Heartbreaking' but it could be worse
Perth's vacancy rate has been sitting around 0.7 per cent for a year, which has sent rental prices soaring.
While wages grew 4.6 per cent in Western Australia last year, the median rent jumped by 20 per cent to its current price of $600.
Cody is living with her 71-year-old grandmother, Vicki, along with her mum Nichole, her sister and teenage brother and both of their partners, plus a 17-year-old family friend who is couch surfing. There is one bathroom.
It's packed to the rafters, but Cody says she still feels fortunate.
"There are people out there that are way worse off than us," she says.
"I really empathise with all of Australia right now really struggling with a rental crisis.
"The anxiety and depression surrounding this whole situation is really heartbreaking."
'Sometimes I miss out on dinner'
Cody's mum Nichole, a single parent, is working three jobs to make ends meet.
Sitting on her single bed, in a small room painted lime green, she starts by poking fun at her situation.
"So, this is me, squashed in here, in the single bed," she says, laughing.
"It's hard for [my] mum too, she's older and she just wants to retire and be on her own, but we're all stuck here."
Nichole didn't expect to be living at her mum's place with her three adult kids at this stage in her life.
The 47-year-old is a disability support worker who has picked up some shifts at Bunnings for the extra cash.
"It's a daily struggle," Nichole says.
"Mentally, physically, emotionally, financially."
Nichole is living here because she is waiting for her own home to be built, and could not afford to rent in the current market at the same time as paying her mortgage.
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