Housing in Australia : a new century

In 1974 Hugh Stretton, a Professor of History at the University of Adelaide and deputy chair of the South Australian Housing Trust (a post he held for 17 years), delivered a series of five lectures for the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) on the topic of ‘Housing and Government’ as part of the Boyer Lectures series.Occurring in a period when housing policy in Australia was being radically reshaped, Stretton’s talks were pivotal in their timing and their content. The lectures identified the challenges and changes occurring in Australian housing at the time and framed a public research agenda for Australian housing studies. Forty years on, Stretton’s 1974 Boyer Lectures provide a unique lens – a time capsule of sorts – on this period in Australian housing history. To gain a sense of present day circumstances and what these mean for the future, an appreciation of where we have been is essential. Stretton’s lectures provide a useful frame for orientating ourselves around some of the core issues when considering contemporary housing issues in Australia. Reflecting on the changes to housing in Australia over this 40 years period this chapter introduces the main themes of this collection: people and practices (framed around the areas of economy, society and environment and how housing intersects with these) and policy. The research assembled in this volume and how it advances our knowledge of housing in Australia in the 21st century is outlined throughout each theme.