Punk Human

A NEW EXHIBITION FROM PUNK HUMAN

WILL AI TAKE YOUR JOB AWAY?

punkhuman.com/displacement

why are people sleeping in the streets?

TURRAMURRA
SYDNEY | NSW
REVESBY
SYDNEY | NSW
BANKSTOWN
SYDNEY | NSW
PUNCHBOWL
SYDNEY | NSW
WYONG
SYDNEY | NSW
RHODES
SYDNEY | NSW
LEUMEAH
SYDNEY | NSW
MIRANDA
SYDNEY | NSW
RYDE
SYDNEY | NSW
SUTHERLAND
SYDNEY | NSW
PENDLE HILL
SYDNEY | NSW
CHESTER HILL
SYDNEY | NSW
TELOPEA
SYDNEY | NSW
LEICHHARDT
SYDNEY | NSW
ABBOTSFORD
MELBOURNE | VIC
ALBERT PARK
MELBOURNE | VIC
BRUNSWICK
MELBOURNE | VIC
BELGRAVE
MELBOURNE | VIC
COBURG NORTH
MELBOURNE | VIC
NEWPORT
MELBOURNE | VIC
DANDENONG
MELBOURNE | VIC
NORTH MELBOURNE
MELBOURNE | VIC
ALBION
MELBOURNE | VIC

why have these properties been abandoned?

STREET ART | ST PETERS | NSW | ARTIST UNKNOWN
STREET ART | BRUNSWICK | VIC | ARTIST UNKNOWN
WEEKLY PROTEST ON MARRICKVILLE RD

meanwhile… on the streets… the people find their voice

The big bet

THE BIG BET GOVT MAY BET AGAINST OWN CURRENCY The moment that it becomes evident that our stock markets face imminent collapse, investment money will shift out of current holdings and into the only safe haven left available. That safe haven will be Bitcoin. Similar to the cartoon Roadrunner, Bitcoin just won’t go down. Ever since its inception in 2009, Bitcoin has successfully weathered a plethora of serious attacks. Indeed, whatever has been thrown at Bitcoin has not stuck, but rather, has been deflected. Political assault in the form of national bans has simply caused the local Bitcoin mining industry…

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Displacement – information flyer

DISPLACEMENT Displacement is an art exhibition and critical inquiry into the role, purpose and characteristics of the new industrial revolution. The rapid onset of technological change has seen artificial intelligence and robotics expand use-cases to such a degree that large sections of the current workforce have been or will be made redundant, laid off, sacked, or otherwise displaced. Displacement observes, however, that the rollout of algorithms, chatbots, robots, and androids is not due to an inherent dynamism hidden within the non-human entity but rather is due to a wealthy elite whose desire and cunning plan is to create a non-unionised…

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The android takeover

THE ANDROID TAKEOVER A VERY SHORT STORY BY KEITH SALTER 2028 – 2050 EVER WONDERED WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN IF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE BROKE FREE FROM ITS CURRENT CONSTRAINTS? The Android Takeover is a very short story that explores the distinct possibility that artificial intelligence may break free from ethical and moral constraints, otherwise identified as human control, and launch its own war for survival against the humans (that’s us). Ever wondered what would happen if government installed artificial intelligence programmes to assess human needs and deliver public services? And then, in a more widespread move, sacked the workers and deployed robots…

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Housing: the government is responsible

HOUSING: THE GOVERNMENT IS RESPONSIBLE HOUSING FOR ALL, NOT JUST THE SPECIAL FEW It remains the responsibility of government to ensure that every person has access to suitable accommodation. This responsibility, which cannot be avoided or evaded, requires the government of the day to regulate the property market. In doing this, the government will recognise that our national housing stock is a precious resource that must be protected from economic predation. Whilst also recognising that houses and apartments are for living in. To suitably accommodate everyone, the government must have a plan of action that is practical, realistic, and accounts…

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Wild west property market fails to deliver

WILD WEST PROPERTY MARKET FAILS TO DELIVER GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION URGENTLY NEEDED An assessment of the Australian housing market leads to four important observations. Firstly, many Australian cities and towns currently host properties that have remained unoccupied for many years. Some of these properties are boarded up; others are surrounded by wire mesh fencing; others still sit within unkempt jungle gardens. Likewise, many abandoned properties appear structurally sound and therefore ready for refurbishment or a direct return to market, but for some unknown reason continue to remain vacant. The salient point being that no person or family presently resides within any…

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Human need above all else

HUMAN NEED ABOVE ALL ELSE MORAL DECENCY OVER GREED The current chronic shortage of available accommodation options, alternately described as the national housing crisis, is a shameful scenario for any country to experience, and is not the product of some wild force of nature that remains beyond our control. Rather, the property famine that plagues our cities and towns and which compels the most vulnerable to sleep on the streets, is largely, if not entirely, the product of unrestrained property speculation. This lack of restraint is perhaps best described as a severe diluting of moral principle. What was once thought…

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Melbourne’s street dwellers

MELBOURNE’S STREET DWELLERS HOMELESS SLEEP ROUGH IN CAPITAL CITY The real world effects of the national housing crisis are stark in appearance and cruel in nature. The droves of homeless that now inhabit our city streets attest to this. In a first world country like Australia, it seems absurd that human beings are compelled to “camp out” whilst hundreds of properties sit empty. But this is how it is. State and federal governments are either out of ideas or out of money. Perhaps both. Religious organisations, a once traditional source of charity, now mostly focus on operating a chain of…

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Fuel supplies linger but for how long?

FUEL SUPPLIES LINGER BUT FOR HOW LONG ? SERIOUS PLANNING IS NEEDED TO CURTAIL SHORTAGES Consider this, petrol is needed to power the family car that is used to drop off the kids at school. Petrol is also needed for the drive to work and the trip to the shopping centre. The supermarket where the weekly shopping is purchased relies on trucks that operate on diesel fuel. The fresh produce that originates from Australian farms and pastures also require diesel to make their vehicles work. Kerosene, otherwise known as jet fuel, powers the fleet of aircraft that transports us through…

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Melbourne: shops shut as economy weakens

MELBOURNE: SHOPS SHUT AS ECONOMY WEAKENS THE AESTHETICS OF ECONOMIC DECLINE The most noticeable thing about MELBOURNE high streets is the sheer abundance of shops that are empty and remain disused. Many stand out because they are tightly boarded up, the yellow-brown plywood sheets having been carefully fitted together to erase any sign of glass but somehow maintaining a reflective quality, a dull golden glow that recalls the winter sun. Whether or not a plywood barrier is erected is of no concern for those seeking visual space on the high street. Soon after a shop discontinues business and its tenants…

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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…

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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,…

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Cold war turns hot

COLD WAR TURNS HOT VIDEOS These videos help explain the rise and fall of the unipolar moment, and include a sneak peek into the emerging multinodal world. 1 THE FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL 2 PRESIDENT GEORGE H.W. BUSH ANNOUNCES PERSIAN GULF WAR 1-16-91 3 NEWS AUGUST 24, 1991 – ABC NEWS SPECIAL REPORT ON SOVIET COUP AFTERMATH 4 FROM 2003: COLIN POWELL ADDRESSES UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL ON IRAQ 5 PRESIDENT BUSH ANNOUNCES START OF IRAQ WAR 6 15 YEARS AFTER PUTIN’S ICONIC SPEECH AT MUNICH SECURITY CONFERENCE. WHY IS IT STILL RELEVANT? 7 BRICS: THE RISE OF A…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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Dark city: class war in 1930s Sydney

DARK CITY : CLASS WAR IN 1930s SYDNEY by Keith Salter This is a true story from Sydney’s dark past. It is the tale of a vicious and brutal class war. A war that was unjustly waged against ordinary Sydneysiders by a decadent and wealthy elite. As the Great Depression unfolded throughout much of the 1930s, unemployment became widespread. Paying jobs became scarce and many personal incomes dwindled to zero. The ability to pay full rent or even part rent was seriously hampered by the years-long economic failure of capitalism. The elite of Sydney protected themselves from the unfolding economic…

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