<
https://johnmenadue.com/post/2026/05/looking-for-a-home-in-a-land-of-empty-houses/>
"The Victorian government has pledged to build hundreds of thousands of new
homes over the coming decade in response to Australia’s growing housing crisis.
Its
Housing Statement has sparked fierce political debate, with the Liberals
accusing Labor of failing to build enough homes and of falling short of its own
targets. Yet both sides have missed a more uncomfortable reality.
In Australia around one million dwellings sit unoccupied. At the same time,
more than 120,000 people are homeless. The ratio is striking: roughly one to
ten. In inner Melbourne, the same pattern appears: in 2023 around 10,000 vacant
or underused dwellings, alongside just over 1,000 people recorded as homeless.
Again, one to ten.
These figures are conservative. Homelessness is often hidden, taking the form
of people sleeping in cars, couch surfing or moving between temporary
arrangements. At the same time, many dwellings sit empty or underused in ways
that are not fully captured in official data.
This reality reflects a modern understanding of property that a house is not
necessarily a home. This distinction is beginning to appear in the language
itself. Those without stable accommodation are increasingly described as
‘houseless’ rather than ‘homeless’ in an attempt to separate the absence of
shelter from the deeper idea of home.
A person sleeping rough may come to treat a mattress under an overpass or a
tent on the edge of a park as a kind of home. These spaces are often arranged
carefully in determined attempts to make a harsh environment more liveable. Yet
homeless people are often treated as unsightly garbage by both government
authorities and the broader public. This results in ‘homes’ being routinely
dismantled, forcing their occupants to move on.
At the same time, many dwellings across Melbourne sit empty. In inner-city
areas such as Southbank, entire apartment towers have been described as ‘ghost
towers’. For instance, at 18 Moray Street, a 38-level building containing more
than 100 furnished apartments has remained entirely vacant for years. These are
dwellings, not homes.
This gap between language and lived reality is deeply rooted. Throughout
Australia’s colonial history, the law has been used to regulate those who do
not take part in accepted forms of work and live in stable housing. While the
words have changed, the underlying logic remains. Homelessness continues to be
managed through offences such as loitering, trespassing and public nuisance.
This criminalises behaviours that become unavoidable in the absence of private
space."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
