Reimagines ‘the great Australian dream’ of housing as ‘the great Australian right’ to housing

Almost everyone in Australia is feeling the impact of the national housing crisis, which is traumatising individuals, families and communities. In the reconstruction period following World War II, governments ensured that access to adequate and affordable housing was virtually universal. But now, many young people and families are finding it almost impossible to buy, or even rent, a home. During the COVID years, government action took the homeless off the streets, yet homelessness is now at a record high. The fact that significant numbers of women are currently living in their cars is just one tragic example of the depths to which the entire system has sunk. We seem to be trapped in a vortex of minimal government ambition, stale non-strategic thinking and maximum profits.

Housing: the Great Australian Right argues that governments have the capacity and the power to resolve this national plight. The first step is for Australia to rethink its approach to housing policy and recognise access to housing – having a home – as a fundamental human right.

The current crisis can be traced back to when growing the property market and treating housing as an investment became the dominant considerations, with the welfare of people relegated to a distant second. This order must now be reversed, beginning with making the human right to housing the central focus of the system. This will require profound changes to government policy, administration and legislation, to be fuelled by reimagining ‘the great Australian dream’ of housing as ‘the great Australian right’ to housing.

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The Hon. Kevin Bell AO KC is a baby boomer who grew up in social housing in the Melbourne suburb of Moorabbin – fittingly, in the language of the Bunurong/Boonwurrung, ‘Moorabbin’ means ‘resting place’ or ‘mother’s milk’. He graduated in Arts and Law from Monash University and worked at the Tenants Union of Victoria before practising as a barrister for twenty years, including in Victorian housing and residential tenancies law. As a judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria for fifteen years, he wrote many influential judgments on human rights, including the right to housing and home. As a professor in the Faculty of Law at Monash University and director of the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, he similarly focused on housing, homelessness and human rights. He also served as a commissioner of the Yoorrook Justice Commission and has a masters in international human rights law from Oxford University. He is presently an adjunct professor at Monash and the patron of Tenants Victoria.

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Attend our in-person lunch and discussion at 12:30pm or watch the live stream remotely.

Live stream will commence at:
1pm AEST (NSW, ACT, VIC, TAS, QLD)
12:30pm ACST (SA, NT)
11am AWST (WA)

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Register here to reserve a seat at our Graduate House event. Your ticket includes lunch from 12:30pm followed by a discussion from 1pm.

If you purchase an Online Ticket, you will be able to watch the live stream online. You'll receive the link by email.

Per Capita is committed to keeping its events accessible to those who may not be able to purchase a ticket. For this reason we are making a number of Concession Tickets available for unwaged/student/full age pension concessions. These tickets cover the cost of lunch plus a free ticket to the discussion.

Free tickets are available to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in recognition of the fact that this event is being held on stolen land. Please email info@percapita.org.au to request a free ticket.

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Contact the host of John Cain Lunch September: The Great Australian Right, with Kevin Bell