Punk Human

VACANT | UNOCCUPIED | EMPTY | ABANDONED

RHODES
LEUMEAH
INGLEBURN
MIRANDA
RYDE
SUTHERLAND
NORTH SYDNEY
RIVERSTONE
HOMEBUSH
MARRICKVILLE
PENDLE HILL
TELOPEA
LEICHHARDT
TURRAMURRA
CAMPSIE
LINDFIELD
LIVERPOOL
CHESTER HILL
SEVEN HILLS
YENNORA
PUNCHBOWL

How will I ever find a home?

HOW WILL I EVER FIND A HOME? PROPERTY SPECULATORS • Intentionally leave some properties vacant and underutilised • Sit on empty properties for years at a time to realise profit through land banking • Often prefer Airbnb short term rentals to long term renters HOMELESS PEOPLE • Wander the streets during the day to avoid being “moved on” by police • Sleep rough at railway stations and bus stops after dark • Often cannot receive government assistance if they have no fixed address UNDER 21s • Are stuck with youth wages until the age of 21 • But must pay…

Keep reading

Squatters turn empty houses into homes

SQUATTERS TURN EMPTY HOUSES INTO HOMES SQUATTERS RECYCLE EMPTY PROPERTIES By the mid-1980s poverty had become rampant throughout Australia. As jobs moved overseas and mortgage rates skyrocketed above 15%, many people suffered under this unbearable weight. Some lost their homes and had to start again as renters in a new suburb. Others, overwhelmingly young people under 30, working with a handful of experienced squatters, took control of their destiny and moved themselves into vacant properties in large numbers. The residential properties had sat empty for years prior to these actions. They stood in forlorn clusters and were therefore highly visible,…

Keep reading

Cold war turns hot

COLD WAR TURNS HOT VIDEOS | The unipolar moment | before & after VIDEOS These videos help explain the rise and fall of the unipolar moment, and include a sneak peek into the emerging multipolar world. A range of perspectives are included. / 01 THE FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL / 02 PRESIDENT GEORGE H.W. BUSH ANNOUNCES PERSIAN GULF WAR 1-16-91 / 03 NEWS AUGUST 24, 1991 – ABC NEWS SPECIAL REPORT ON SOVIET COUP AFTERMATH / 04 FROM 2003: COLIN POWELL ADDRESSES UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL ON IRAQ / 05 PRESIDENT BUSH ANNOUNCES START OF IRAQ WAR / 06…

Keep reading

From unipolar to multipolar

FROM UNIPOLAR TO MULTIPOLAR US HEGEMONY DWINDLES AS NEW POLES EMERGE THE COLD WAR American cultural and political leadership, on an international scale, began its ascendency in the aftermath of World War One. United States global power was further solidified after World War Two as much of Europe lay in ruins and was largely bankrupt. A cold war between East and West emerged soon after the defeat of the Nazis in 1945. The victorious Allies, which included Britain, France, Australia, the United States, and the Soviet Union, and which had successfully collaborated to defeat nazi Germany and imperial Japan, split…

Keep reading

Museum of the Vietnamese Revolution

MUSEUM OF THE VIETNAMESE REVOLUTION Hanoi (Ha Noi) | Vietnam The Vietnam National Museum of History was established in 2011 and amalgamates the National Museum of Vietnamese History with the National Museum of the Vietnamese Revolution. As of 2026, both museums continue to have their own building – they sit across the road from one another – and maintain unique and distinctive collections. This review and commentary will focus solely on the former National Museum of the Vietnamese Revolution. “The building at 216 Tran Quang Khai street (the former National Museum of the Vietnamese Revolution) was constructed in 1917 as…

Keep reading

War Remnants Museum

WAR REMNANTS MUSEUM Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) | Vietnam The collection of the War Remnants Museum does more than simply catalogue the effects of war in Vietnam and promote peace. The museum provides a living example of how a collecting institution may approach the subject of war after victory. The War Remnants Museum was established on 4 September 1975 and “specializes in researching, collecting, preserving and displaying evidence of crimes and consequences of the war of aggression against Vietnam, thereby calling for awareness against unjust wars, protecting peace and promoting solidarity between nations.” The first thing that a visitor…

Keep reading

Towards a new philosophy of housing

TOWARDS A NEW PHILOSOPHY OF HOUSING HOUSING FOR ALL A philosophy of housing that seeks to satisfy the accommodation needs of the entire population, that rejects class privilege and racial prejudice where they may act as barriers to housing, that accepts that all people require suitable shelter, comfort, and privacy on an ongoing basis, and that delivers housing solutions at all links within the housing market chain, is precisely the new philosophy of housing that is now desperately needed. Such an approach draws upon the longstanding principle that appropriate housing is a fundamental human right. Which means that everyone receives…

Keep reading

Thirteen years of something else

THIRTEEN YEARS OF SOMETHING ELSE There are times in life when things change at a record pace. During the thirteen years that transpired between 1962 and 1975, something fundamentally decent about Australia and Australians emerged. A genuine cultural unity materialised, one that rallied around a shared vision for a just Australian society. It was a time when the Australian nation had sought to overcome its horrid past of white slavery and black exclusion. It was also a time when Australia finally understood its place within and connection to world history. Indeed, it was a flowering, a coming of age, a…

Keep reading

Building an empty properties register

BUILDING AN EMPTY PROPERTIES REGISTER What is an empty properties register? • An organised list of all the properties that currently remain empty • A survey of housing assets within an identified area • Such as a local council electorate, local catchment area, or a local conurbation • An empty properties register can be a national database Why produce an empty properties register? • To capture evidence of empty properties • To manifest a data pool which can serve further research • To help generate an honest public discussion about housing and homelessness • To provide coherent information related to…

Keep reading

Without petrol, things will get much harder

WITHOUT PETROL, THINGS WILL GET MUCH HARDER If petrol becomes so expensive that most people cannot afford to operate a vehicle, certain specific changes will occur within our society. For example, tradespeople and mobile professionals, who pay for their own means of transportation, including petrol, will be forced to restrict their driving. Over time, these workers will seek to consolidate work appointments into time blocks to save on petrol expense, which in practice means they will opt to work part-time. Within three to six months, many will wind up their business enterprises, unable to strategise around price inflation and the…

Keep reading

The scent of fresh cut grass

The scent of fresh cut grass SYNOPSIS THE SCENT OF FRESH CUT GRASS / BY KEITH SALTER In a world devoid of moral restraint, the new normal offers the ruling elite the opportunity to simply tell us their plans. Which is precisely what RexPark, a business corporation and private military contractor, has presently accomplished with the publication of its ideological essay and business plan.The Bastard Country, The Entity, and The Proxy is undoubtedly a tour-de-force of maniacal lunacy. Which will see mercenaries recruited to go hunting on human safari within overseas territories. Whilst the victims of these shooting wars will…

Keep reading

The Department of Squatting

The Department of Squatting and the news media reaction CHAPTER EXCERPT FROM THE NOVEL THE SCENT OF FRESH CUT GRASS / BY KEITH SALTER 0 DAY ZERO … | The scenario • After learning some frightening details regarding a local business entity• Squatters take over a building located at 242 Tessington Rd, Mooreville• A modern day civil disobedience and direct action campaign gets underway• What follows is an account of the media transmissions published daily by the Department of Squatting. A similar account is provided for the mainstream media. 1 DAY ONE … Morning | The Department of Squatting WHERE…

Keep reading

Punk is a state of mind

PUNK IS A STATE OF MIND, AN ATTITUDE, A WORLD VIEW Punk is a state of mind. Mental conformity is out and originality and freedom of expression are in. Punk is an attitude. Which is a shrewd social awareness that critically analyses our own society on the one hand, and that values integrity, fairness, and decency, and despises injustice on the other. Punk is a world view. It is a way of understanding the world amidst the ongoing chaos of economic collapse and forever wars. Punk isn’t shy about speaking out. Punk calls out colonialism, militarism, police violence, and class…

Keep reading

500+ Sydney properties remain empty

500+ SYDNEY PROPERTIES REMAIN EMPTY by Keith Salter The Empty Properties Register is the result of active research field work that has sought to document the widespread practice of leaving properties empty at a time when over 120,000 people nationally within Australia continue to experience homelessness. The research found 500+ empty and abandoned properties – overwhelmingly domestic dwellings – situated within the greater Sydney region. The survey encapsulated one or more visits to more than 160 suburbs across a period of 21 months. Many of these 500+ properties are locked up for the longer term. Anti-human enhancements have been added…

Keep reading

Any war with China will arrive with costs

ANY WAR WITH CHINA WILL ARRIVE WITH COSTS by Keith Salter This article examines what might occur within the Australian tertiary education sector should Australia pursue a war with China. In the scenario that Australia embarks upon a war with China, whether that be a shooting war or a series of sea piracy acts, we should expect a considered response from China. Any war with China will arrive with costs for Australians. One such cost may be long term damage to profitability due to a withdrawal of Chinese investment. Once war breaks out the Chinese government will ban future students…

Keep reading

EMPTY PROPERTIES REGISTER

Why squat empty properties?

• Squatting utilises existing social resources that are presently misused

• Squatting recycles abandoned properties and reduces environmental waste

• Squatting ensures that empty properties service the local community

• Squatting empowers the individual to reverse disadvantageous circumstances

• Squatting can provide a visual example of genuine community action

READ ALL ABOUT IT

NEWS | ANALYSIS | COMMENTARY | SATIRE

Punk Human Art Exhibition

A JOURNEY INTO THE UNDERBELLY OF SYDNEY

Over the course of one year, I have documented Sydney’s deepening accommodation crisis. This has involved visiting numerous homeless encampments around Sydney. Where I often discussed the causes of homelessness with those living on the streets. Causes identified included fleeing from domestic violence, having little to no money following eviction, experiencing a sudden crisis or misfortune, being without family or friends who could temporarily accommodate, likely mental illness, and no access to useful and appropriate social services.

WHERE WILL YOU BE SLEEPING TONIGHT?

• Is this the very best our society has to offer?