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The Hon. Kevin Bell, following introductory remarks by Dr. Liz Allen, will be in conversation with Kim Rubenstein on his new book , which 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.

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. 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 Hon. Kevin Bell AO KC is a baby boomer who grew up in social housing in the Melbourne suburb of Moorabbin. 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 15 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. 

Professor Kim Rubenstein, lawyer, academic, author, distinguished human rights advocate, is a Professor in the Faculty of Business Government and Law at the University of Canberra , an Honorary Professor at the ANU, Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law and Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia. In 2024 she was awarded the Australian Legal Research Awards, Lifetime Achievement Legal Research Medal by the Council of Australian Law Deans. Kim is a regular commentator in the media on citizenship and gender matters.

Dr Liz Allen is a demographer and Senior Lecturer in POLIS: The Centre for Social Policy Research, College of Arts and Social Sciences. ANU

The vote of thanks will be given by Maiy Azize, Deputy Director of Anglicare Australia and Chairperson of Everybody’s Home.

September 12. 6 -7 PM. Harry Hartog bookshop Kambri ANU

This event is in association with . Books will be available for purchase. Pre-event book signings will be available from 5.30pm and again after the event.

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A podcast will be made available after the event.

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