The housing problem is fixable, but only through systemic change. That’s why I support a proposal to enshrine the right to housing in law.
Housing is a human right, but our laws do not reflect that. This failure has helped drive us into a housing disaster, where homes are treated as commodities rather than as the foundation of human dignity.
The housing system in Australia is failing because it is designed for profit, not people. It encourages us to treat housing as a business activity rather than as a means of meeting fundamental human needs.
The Hon Kevin Bell AO KC is a former justice of the supreme court of Victoria, commissioner with the Yoorrook Justice Commission and president of the Victorian civil and administrative tribunal. He is the author of Housing: The Great Australian Right (Monash Publishing, 2024).
