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Squatting
There are hundreds of houses/buildings left empty right now while people who are in need are left homeless or
live in substandard and unaffordable accommodation.
Town planners and 'housing experts' have long been perplexed as to why government programs to 'house the poor'
in Western and non-Western countries fail to satisfy people's needs for housing and community, while self-help
squatter settlements around the world have been so successful. The answer lies in the autonomy that squatters
create and maintain for themselves by taking control of their own housing problems.
"It's profit margins that count. Look at the scale of urban gentrification in Sydney at the moment -
it doesn't look like abating in the near future does it? Relax. It's only natural - the strong over the weak.
One day, when you can afford to purchase property of your own, you will understand. You too will give the
gift of rental accommodation to someone who has enough money to afford it but not enough to return the gift.
And they will give you the security you need for further speculation in real estate. Everyone's a winner!"
If you can't afford to purchase private property - or simply don't want to assist private property owners to
purchase more property by paying them excessive rent - there is no need to wait for the private rental market
and/or the government to provide a solution to your housing needs. Help yourself and solve your own housing
problems - squat in these buildings before the owners let them rot!
Squatting allows you autonomy. Despite the 'threat of eviction', squatting actually gives us a high degree
of control over where and how we choose to live. It enables us to learn a great deal about how to repair a
building and organise our living/organising spaces according to our individual and collective desires - a
privilege usually reserved for owners of private property. And when we create that kind of autonomy we tend
to actively participate in maintaining it, rather than simply waiting for the government / rental market to
try and provide housing for us.
Queeruption 7 has taken over a disused building to be created as a free space, an autonomous zone free of
government interference where folks should feel free to indulge in whatever they like, a stark contrast to
the extreme regulation of most Australian social gathering places.
By appropriating spaces outside the control of the state and market for info shops, gallery space, free/cheap
cafes and bars, independent film nights, forums, theatre, parties, free recycled multimedia access centres,
gatherings and community centres, we demonstrate the capacity of people to organise themselves outside the
systems of state and market which increasingly control our lives. By providing our own social and political
spaces we are empowered to express marginalised voices and take control of our communities.
www.squat.net
www.squatspace.com
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