New South Wales Housing Minister Rose Jackson found herself in a bit of a shitstorm this week after she claimed it was possible to rent a two-bedroom apartment in Sydney for “a couple hundred bucks“. Her comment sparked an outcry from renters all over Sydney on social media due to how out of touch the claim seemed to be. Now, Jackson has taken to the comments of an Instagram post to set the record straight.
On Wednesday, the grassroots housing movement House You shared a post criticising Jackson for underestimating the median prices of Sydney rent and claiming that she is “out of touch”.
Jackson wrote a lengthy comment on the post claiming that the interview had been taken out of context.
“I mean listen to the whole interview. I was asked what was reasonable for rent in Sydney. I said a couple of hundred bucks. Like (many) I don’t think these huge rent prices are reasonable, I said it in the interview and many times in parliament and the media,” she wrote.
She claimed that the interviewer, Hamish Macdonald, changed the question from ‘what is a reasonable amount of rent to pay?’, to ‘what is the rent price?’
“I am acutely aware that weekly rent in Sydney is in the realm of hundreds and hundreds, even thousands of dollars — if listeners misunderstood my comment as a suggestion I thought it was anything less than that I’m happy to clarify,” she continued.
“I am always up for talking about the housing crisis because I know it is real, I know housing is expensive, I talk constantly about our efforts to do something on that – if I didn’t think the rent was expensive I wouldn’t be nearly as concerned as I am about the housing crisis!”
Jackson went on to “categorically reject” the notion that she didn’t think rent in Sydney was expensive.
“Rent in Sydney is hundreds and hundreds and hundreds, even thousands, of dollars a week and that many people are struggling to afford that, a point I also made repeatedly during the interview,” she said.
Jackson also spoke about the interview in a TikTok video. You can check it out below.
What went down in the initial radio interview?
On Tuesday, Jackson was interviewed about the rental market and housing affordability on ABC Radio Sydney. During the chat, Macdonald asked her what she thought a “reasonable price to pay in rent” was for a two-bedroom flat in Sydney.
“Well, I mean it kind of depends where in Sydney,” Jackson said. “I mean, Sydney’s a big city. I mean, a couple of hundred bucks, right?”
Macdonald questioned where renters would be able to find a two-bedroom rental for that price.
“Well, a week? I don’t know, there are places in Sydney you can,” Jackson continued.
“Not all flats are the same. This is the thing about the housing market, there’s a lot of variety — like a luxe two-bed penthouse in the eastern suburbs is pretty different to a neat and tidy, two-bedroom flat next to a train station in Western Sydney.”
While the Sydney market is considerably varied, the ABC reports that the median rental price for a unit in Sydney is currently $720 a week — significantly higher than Jackson’s $200 a week estimate.
Although, it is worth noting that at the end of the interview, she attempted to clarify that she did not mean $200.
“Don’t put words in my mouth,” she told Macdonald.
According to the ABC, the Rental Bond Board data was analysed by the Tenants’ Union of NSW. It claims only 23 out of 25,000 two-bedroom apartments have been rented out for $200 per week or less since July.
“We think it’s clear that the minister believes, as we do and we hope everyone does, that people should be able to find a two-bedroom home for $200 per week in Sydney,” Tenants’ Union CEO Leo Patterson Ross said.
“Unfortunately, that’s not easy to do!”
Currently, Sydney’s rental market is the most expensive in the country. It’s a pretty rough deal, especially when data from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) shows that 59 per cent of renters don’t expect to ever own their home — even though 78 per cent would like to.
Ouchie mama.
The post NSW Minister Clarifies That She Didn’t Mean You *Could* Rent A 2-Bedder In Sydney For $200 appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
