"The National
Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS or the Scheme) is a long term commitment by
the Australian Government in partnership with the States and Territories, to
provide affordable rental housing. The Scheme seeks to address the shortage of
affordable rental housing by offering financial incentives to persons or
entities such as the business sector and community organisations to build and
rent dwellings to low and moderate income households at a rate that is at least
20 per cent below the market value rent."
Unfortunately, it
has become apparent that the NRAS Scheme is being abused by chronic smokers.
Note that it is becoming more widely accepted that a nicotine addiction is a
far more powerful addiction than a heroin one, so we should keep in mind that
smokers really are desperate drug addicts. It is with this understanding that
we can be very proud of those who do Quit and improve the lives of themselves
and those around them.
To take the heroin
addict argument further, the stereo-typical heroin addict portrayed by
Hollywood is always looking for a fix and will do anything for a hit...
anything but to go cold-turkey. So what do you think happens when smokers learn
about the NRAS scheme? Well, to a smoker this really is the good-life because a
$300 per week rental is now available for about $240 a week, and that means
about $60 worth of extra (free) cigarettes a week.
If a smoker had
been renting at $350 a week and they move into an NRAS approved premises they
could well enjoy an extra $50-$100 a week of over-the-counter
government-endorsed drugs (cigarettes). That could turn into several thousand
dollars extra a year spent on cigarettes, just for one smoker. We just don't
know how much money is being spent on cigarettes due to the abuse of this
Scheme.
Now, this web site
is not at all opposed to the NRAS scheme - we support it greatly due to the
real problem of increasingly unaffordable housing, and the NRAS scheme makes a
huge positive difference to so many Aussies and their families. However we
believe the NRAS scheme should only be provided to the genuine non-smoking
lower income earner. We propose that as part of a national health strategy
against smoking, smokers should be required to enrol in a Quit smoking program
before enjoying the benefits of the NRAS Scheme.
This is not an
unfair discrimination as heavy smokers are basically low income earners by
choice: because they choose to smoke. This should be done for the health of all
Australians: for the benefit of taxpayers, for the health and safety of
non-smokers, and for the very lives of the smokers. We don't think the NRAS
scheme should contribute to the burden on our hospital system either.
References:
Report on
the 2013-2014 Federal Budget (includes info on the NRAS scheme)
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