CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
Local Betoota IT professional, Paddy Kilmartin (29) knows there’s only a few things certain in this world.
One, this government will tax him until death. Two, the Parramatta Eels will never win a premiership in his lifetime. And three, he will never be able to afford his own home as a university educated office worker whose work requires him to live in a major urban area.
Like millions of other young people in this country, Paddy has had to make peace with having the Australian Dream stolen from him by a housing market that has been manipulated to ensure that only foreign buyers and baby boomer property investors can ever get a piece of it.
While politicians offer pointless lip service to this issue, like suggesting he relocate to a rural town that has no jobs outside of agriculture, or dipping into his superannuation to buy a studio apartment in poorly built high-rise in the flight path – Paddy knows nothing is going to change.
Why? Because in 2021, the grey-haired political and media class in this country all have vested interests in protecting the risk-free assets that they were lucky to purchase before this hysterical property boom. It also doesn’t help that these same baby boomers think they are geniuses for ‘having the foresight’ to buy multiple properties back when you could scoop up a homeloan deposit with half a year’s salary.
But there’s still hope. Paddy knows there’s a difference between being able to afford a house, and being able to own a house.
For instance, his mates that aren’t worried about this catastrophic housing bubble are the ones whose parents are going to leave them a couple houses. Or are letting them live at home rent free right into young parenthood, and then ponying up majority of their deposit to help them enter a lifetime of debt.
As the son of two teachers, Paddy doesn’t come from that kind of money. So there’s only one other pathway left for him to achieve home ownership. Befriending a widow.
Today he got to work – by waving at the elderly nonna down the street that never gets any visitors and lives alone.
“Hello” he says to old woman sitting on her front patio this morning, effectively adding a $3m workers cottage to his non-existent property portfolio.
The elderly Italian immigrant gives him a smile back.
He’s made great inroads. He’ll be back here tomorrow.
