ARCOM

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Jones, M A (1971) The role of the Australian state housing authorities in low income housing, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , Australian National University.

• Type: Thesis
• Keywords: population; poverty; trust; dwellings; homes; insurance; housing policy; policy; builder; Australia
• ISBN/ISSN:
• URL: https://www.proquest.com/docview/2616588990
• Abstract:
  In the 24 years from 1945 to 1969 the State housing authorities in Australia constructed some 296,000 dwellings, about 16 per cent of the total new housing completed in that period. About ten per cent of the Australian population are now accommodated in public housing units. This thesis is a study of the operations of these six authorities: the New South Wales Housing Commission (NSWHC), the Victorian Housing Commission (VHC), the South Australian Housing Trust (SAHT), the State Housing Commission of Western Australia (WAHC), the Tasmanian Housing Department (THC) and the Queensland Housing Commission (QHC) . Two aspects of the Commissions' are emphasized: whether it is the poor who receive the housing they supply; and whether the housing is supplied in the most effective manner. Hopefully, some light will be thrown on the relative advantages of assisting those on low incomes by providing a subsidized good (in this case housing) rather than by the simple allocation of cash grants, an increasingly popular method of overcoming the problem of inequality.The general problem,' then, is the alleviation of poverty, but various parts of the problem are stressed while others are omitted. The first limitation was imposed by the availability of written material. Some Commissions operate without extensive written records of procedures. In some cases there is variation even among departments within the one Commission. I was not able to gain access to the QHC records. Every attempt was made to obtain documentary evidence of policy procedures and so overcome the pitfalls of interviewing, although the latter was used as a guide and explanatory aid to the written material. The availability of written material has probably meant that some matters receive more attention than would otherwise have been the case. Generally, more attention is paid to the NSWHC, the SAHT and the VHC since these Commissions have accounted for the majority of public housing units built in Australia. The geographical distance of the THC and the WAHC from Canberra probably reinforced the emphasis on the other Commissions. The relative amount of attention given to the various policies in the different States is justified partly by the relative numerical importance of the programmes. But the desire to exploit the insights of the comparative approach, the illustration of a principle, and my own judgements on what is important are also determinants. Since the population of Australia is highly, and increasingly, concentrated in the metropolitan areas and adjacent industrial complexes, little is said about the operations of the Housing Commissions in the nonmetropolitan areas, except where the supply of public housing to these areas affects the supply to the capital cities. Commonwealth housing policy is mentioned only as it affects the operations of the State Housing Commissions. Hence four important elements in Australian housing policy, War Service Homes, the Home Savings Grant, public housing in the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory, and the Housing Loans Insurance Corporation are not discussed. Apart from a brief discussion of the urban planning role of the VHC and the SAHT there is no specific discussion of the effects of the Commissions' policies on urban development, although they undoubtedly do have an influence in this field. The NSWHC, for instance, generally builds large fringe estates. This may attract further development, or, on the other hand, it may deter private builders through the undesirable image of public housing. The Commissions' influence on urban development is restricted by their comparatively small share in total new dwelling construction and, especially in the more recent past, their incorporation into general planning schemes. Generally the Commissions' effects on urban development are by-products of their pursuit of other aims, mainly those concerned with social welfare.

Rich, J R (1993) Victorian building workers and unions 1856-90, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , Australian National University.

Seek, N H (1981) Modification of the existing housing stock: A study of housing adjustments through home improvement, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , Australian National University.

Stretton, A (1977) The building industry and employment creation in Manila, the Philippines, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , Australian National University.

Yin, C N (1981) The doctrine of fundamental breach in contract law, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , Australian National University.