0S1 n "^y, Welcome back to University and the start of second semester! We have buli< reading lined up for you starting with Queensland's housing prob­ lem which directly affects many students. Incest is universally taboo in all TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT societies. As the Women's House Survey found, incest is happening in Queens­ land (and everywhere else) in a much binger way than most people imagine. Ihoy found that the taboo acts to prevent Landlords breath a sigh of relief! At least for people from reporting ,t, rather than preventing incest itself. the present, you are not p.ersonally under attack. For another seedy issue, we discuss suicide among students, quoting the alarming statistic of six, perhaps even ten students committing suicide each One of Brisbane's tenant associations has zeroed in It involves the State or Federal government buying up year while at Queensland University on market forces and legal loopholes as the root cause land and renovating dwellings in bad need of repair, We also feature a lift-out for your of tlieir plight, with the State and Federal governments then renting it back to low income earners on a needs noticeboard on 'Self Defense Against as their means oitt of it. basis. Deception': how to be familiar with the The Petrie Terrace Community Association held a "If people could show that their means were pretty bO most common techniques of decept­ special meeting to discuss a plan of action to combat low, then they would be accepted, rather than just put­ ion from every day chats to political the problem of older and poorer tenants of Petrie ting the accommodation on the market and letting debates. Terrace being evicted because they could not keep up anyone have it," Alderman St. Ledger said. with rising rental costs. "That way people wouldn't be displaced from what The meeting was told that the tragedy of market they've come to regard as their community." Plus more reviews than ever before forces which were a fact of 1982, was that older ten­ On the advice of Noel Nunan, a solicitor from the and a three v,^eel< guide to what's on in ants who had lived in the area for more than twenty Caxton Street Legal Service, the meeting of the tenants Brisbane, years were being evicted with only a month's notice also decided on sending a delegation to the State Attor­ Bonza reading til next time! and being displaced from what they considered to be ney General. their home and community. Regardless of any improvements granted by the State Various factors were named as being responsible Housing Commission, people living in dwellings rented for the rent rises. The comparitively few rentals avail­ from landlords or caravan parks were still greatly dis­ able in this increasingly popular and 'middle class criminated against by the Residential Tenancies Act. trendy' inner city area mean that landlords never have "The Residential Tenancies Act is bias in favour of to face the fear of vacancies on their properties. the landlord on four accounts," Noel Nunan said. INCEST page4 This er\ables them, as is their right in a free enter­ "Firstly there is little security of tenure, a tenant Results of D recent Brisbane survey prise economy, to increase their rents as high as they can be evicted from his dwelling with only a months NILE ON MORALS 5 dare, something which has not been difficult because notice in writing regardless of how long he has lived GRAEME BEATON intervievw chief 'quality of their new middle class clientele. there. controller' Fred Nile The trend back to inner city living for younger "We will propose a graded system, where depending CHAINSAW MASSACRE 6 middle class usually involved in small private business on how long the tenant had been there, a couple of IAN COOK logs his report on the rainforest which is expected to thrive in the area, has meant a weeks would be added to the month long eviction conservation debate landlord can demand anything from $60 to $100 rent notice," he said. WAR IS PEACE 12 per week for a single bedroom furnished dwelling. "Secondly, a tenant's rights are outlined in the Act, JOHN JIGGENS explains One member of the tenant association said that but there is no way of enforcing them unless he goes to after he had spoken with a number of real estate agents the Supreme Court. GETTING UP 14 in the area about the number of unoccupied houses in "It's expensive and impractical to go running off to Queensland Uni student set to scale the world's Petrie Terrace, he found that they were being reno­ the Supreme Court for an injunction to get the landlord fourth highest mountain vated in time for the Commonwealth Games so that to fix the toilet. In one such case, it cost us $140 in SELF-DEFENCE AGAINST DECEPTION 17 double rent could be charged. filing fees alone," Mr Nunan said. pull-out, pin up guide. We're not kidding! It was anticipated that after the Games had ended, "Our delegation will propose something along the STUDENT SUICIDE 18 the rent for these dwellings would fall again but stili lines of what they have in South Australia, where they be substantially higher than what they are now. have a Tenancies Tribunal. Some people need academic pressure like they need a hole in the head City Council Alderman Joe St. Ledger who was "There not only can tenants take complaints about present at the meeting, said that the whole eviction and their landlords, the body can also determine what is SOUP KITCHEN CULTURE 21 displacement of the elderly members of the community an expensive rent," he said. KNIFE & FORK MacARTHUR licks the spoon could have been avoided by the State Government. "Fourthly, at the moment there is no fair provision GASP THUMP SPLASH WRENCH OUCH! 22 "The present town plan we are operating under was for the holding and recovery of bonds. We would pro­ Starry campus athletes get physical gazetted in 1978 and the Council's intention with that pose a body like the NSW Rental Bond Board. FEEDING TIMES 34 plan was to rejuvinate inner city areas," he said. "There the bond is lodged with the Board at the be­ Conversation piece by K»ERON RIDGE "We did advise the Government at that time that ginning of tenancy, at the end of it, the tenant notifies because the inner city areas were predominently low the Board that the tenancy Is over and he wants his rental accommodation for low income people, that bond back. SEMPER Is a non-profit polit­ unsolicited manuscripts, pho­ they should look seriously at buying up property there "The Board writes to the landlord asking if he has tographs and Illustrations. ical and cultural magazine and establishmg a future for the population," he said. any objections, if not the bond goes back to the tenant, based at the University of SEMPER Is copyright, St Queensland, Lucia, Old, 1982. Non-profit "But they didn't really take any notice at all," he but if there is an objection the Board will hold a hear­ publications may reprint arti­ continued, "they were still buying properties that were ing," he said. Editors - Kay Nicol, Andrew cles and gropnics provided Fraser Semper ana ihe authors are much cheaper in the outer suburbs and couldn't see that Mr Nunan's final objection to the Act was that It Design - Damlen Ledwich duly acknowledged. The exce­ the trauma that they were causing some of those people ptions are creative writing holds no protection for boarders, lodgers and caravan Cover - Matt Mawson and copyrighted graphics by forcing them to move out to those areas was in fact dwellers. Typesetting - Jenni Bird which remain the copyright of probably costing a lot more." Printers - Gympie Times Pty the authors and may not be "At present in Queensland some caravan parks are Ltd, 197MarySt, Gymple reproduced without their per­ Alderman St. Ledger also told the meeting of action demanding exorbitant rents and the tenant can be Distrlbuton - Gordon and mission. being taken by the NSW Government to deal with prob­ evicted without notice or reason, Gotch Pty Ltd, Brisbane Advertising - lohn Caskey Address all enquides to - lems like that of Petrie Terrace. The essence of which "It Is really a situation of tenancy when people pay (phone 371 2568) SEMPER Magazine will be forwarded to the State Housing Commission by a $70 to $90 for their housing, and for this they should UniofradtMon delegation from the Petrie Terrace Community Associ­ havh?t/ea somcrxmtke rights,rinKfr "" hV\ae saidaXA . SEMPER welcomes contribu­ St Lucia 4067 tions and letters, but does not Ph 371 2568,371 1611 ation. - LYNDALL WHITE assume any rt$f>onslblllty for SerTper-2 ^x^zV'^t •v'*««**'*»«^' ••v.. '•>l*^ •*>.. •••••^ •;**«»* r^:. SI^ ^^5$1. •*»*•< MUD HUTS ALL ROUND '^^:•'^^^^'f<^ The conservation booklet, 'Earthscan' has found that mud is the answer to the Third World housing crisis. Recently, a Queensland polit­ ician has predicted mud huts for Queensland unless this State can^ get its housing problem under control. HARRY DUNSTALL has the story. ::3?!&-.:?y Despite statements of the State Until then it is a 'make-do' situation Ms Williams said that it is the Federal Housing Minister, Mr Claude with students often steeping on the floor Government's 'sink or swim' attitude Wharton to the contrary, it would of a friend's place because Brisbane's with students that contributes towards appear that Queensland does have a hostels (that is, 'crisis accommodation') the students paying exorbitant rates of housing problem.