Rental crisis to worsen:
Mr Raine said the historically low vacancy rates were pushing rents higher, with no quick fix in sight.Personally, I think that the bubble is set to burst - or at least start bursting - by the end of this year, so I don't think these rent increases will happen.
Renters in south west and western Sydney for example could face rent rises from $50 a week by the end of the year, he said, adding that tenants could be forced to find an extra $150 a week in areas closer to the CBD.
But such warnings highlight how the less-well-off have become increasingly marginalized under Howard, while the richest of the rich have grown obscenely richer. And that cannot be a good thing for a healthy society.
You end up with a crime-ridden underclass, a black market, jails packed to the rafters... Scenes all too familiar in other countries, but seldom imagined for the "luck country".
