'Taking our houses': perceptions of the impact of asylum seekers, refugees and new migrants on housing assistance in Melbourne

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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/230652

Title: 'Taking our houses': perceptions of the impact of asylum seekers, refugees and new migrants on housing assistance in Melbourne
Author(s): Spinney, Angela; Nethery, Amy
Abstract: The pressing issue of homelessness in Australia is largely caused by a shortage of affordable accommodation. Unexpected results from a study into the experiences of homeless families, however, revealed that many people held the perception that asylum seekers, refugees and migrants are given greater priority by welfare agencies for housing assistance. Analysis of the interview data is used to illustrate how public and political discourses circulating at the time of the interviews may have contributed to these views. The article also discusses the extent to which xenophobia in the Australian community has links with feelings of economic insecurity.
Publication type: Journal article
Research centre: Swinburne University of Technology. Faculty of Life and Social Sciences. The Swinburne Institute for Social Research
Source: Social Policy and Society, Vol. 12, no. 2 (Apr 2013), pp. 179-189
Publication year: 2013
FOR Code(s): 1605 Policy and Administration; 1607 Social Work
Keyword(s): Asylum seekers; Homelessness; Housing; Migrants; Refugees
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISSN: 1474-7464
Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1474746412000371
Peer reviewed