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| Living on the Edge (of Australia’s Cities). Also: Is Gun Amnesty Effective? | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The Breakdown puts a selection of Australia’s daily news into context. Today’s picks: | The Breakdown puts a selection of Australia’s daily news into context. Today’s picks: |
| • The new suburbs are where families are chasing the Australian property dream. | • The new suburbs are where families are chasing the Australian property dream. |
| • Why Australia is imposing the first nationwide gun amnesty since 1996. | • Why Australia is imposing the first nationwide gun amnesty since 1996. |
| • More to come… | • More to come… |
| According to the all-knowing being that is the 2016 census, Australia is getting older, more populous and more diverse. At the same time, the cost of living and the median rent have continued to surge. So where are people, particularly newcomers, going to build their lives? Sydney and Melbourne remain the two biggest hot spots — but some areas experiencing the largest surges in growth are the newly formed suburbs outside the capital cities. | According to the all-knowing being that is the 2016 census, Australia is getting older, more populous and more diverse. At the same time, the cost of living and the median rent have continued to surge. So where are people, particularly newcomers, going to build their lives? Sydney and Melbourne remain the two biggest hot spots — but some areas experiencing the largest surges in growth are the newly formed suburbs outside the capital cities. |
| “As the population increases, cities move further and further out to form a metropolitan area,” says Liz Allen, a demographer at Australian National University. “It’s about affording the lifestyle they want.” | “As the population increases, cities move further and further out to form a metropolitan area,” says Liz Allen, a demographer at Australian National University. “It’s about affording the lifestyle they want.” |
| More green space, a free-standing house and a big backyard that will not break the bank are among the reasons families decide to head to those areas. Here are three such regions. | More green space, a free-standing house and a big backyard that will not break the bank are among the reasons families decide to head to those areas. Here are three such regions. |
| Serpentine, southeast of Perth | Serpentine, southeast of Perth |
| Since the last census in 2011, the population in this region outside Perth has grown about 50 percent, and 26,873 people now call it home. The median rent is $310 a week. Serpentine is a hub for immigrants from England and New Zealand: About 32 percent of its residents were not born in Australia. | |
| Dr. Allen said she suspected that the mining boom made surrounding areas too expensive to live in, making Serpentine more attractive. “It’s mostly younger people living here, not older people or retirees,” she said. | Dr. Allen said she suspected that the mining boom made surrounding areas too expensive to live in, making Serpentine more attractive. “It’s mostly younger people living here, not older people or retirees,” she said. |
| Craigieburn, north of Melbourne | Craigieburn, north of Melbourne |
| Five years ago, 52 percent of Craigieburn’s population had two parents who were born overseas; now it’s 61 percent, as the suburb draws more and more immigrants from countries like India, Iraq and Sri Lanka. The median rent is $335 dollars a week. And in the region to the west, where a new suburb has gained traction, more than 14,000 people have moved in. | Five years ago, 52 percent of Craigieburn’s population had two parents who were born overseas; now it’s 61 percent, as the suburb draws more and more immigrants from countries like India, Iraq and Sri Lanka. The median rent is $335 dollars a week. And in the region to the west, where a new suburb has gained traction, more than 14,000 people have moved in. |
| Gungahlin, north of Canberra | Gungahlin, north of Canberra |
| In five years, the region’s population has increased 150 percent. The lack of affordable housing coincided with areas of new land being released to the public, Dr. Allen said. The median weekly rent is $390. Of Gungahlin’s residents, 38 percent were born outside Australia, largely in Asian countries like China, India, Vietnam and Korea. It’s a region to watch, Dr. Allen said, because Gungahlin has one of the highest rates of birth in the country. Families seem to be shifting north, she said, from Tuggeranong, an area once known as “Nappy Valley” because of its high concentration of young families. | In five years, the region’s population has increased 150 percent. The lack of affordable housing coincided with areas of new land being released to the public, Dr. Allen said. The median weekly rent is $390. Of Gungahlin’s residents, 38 percent were born outside Australia, largely in Asian countries like China, India, Vietnam and Korea. It’s a region to watch, Dr. Allen said, because Gungahlin has one of the highest rates of birth in the country. Families seem to be shifting north, she said, from Tuggeranong, an area once known as “Nappy Valley” because of its high concentration of young families. |
| And a unicorn... | |
| … in rent prices if you’re really looking to shake things up: Look to Ashburton, a mining region in Western Australia. In 2016, the median rent was $32 a week, a drop in the last 10 years. | … in rent prices if you’re really looking to shake things up: Look to Ashburton, a mining region in Western Australia. In 2016, the median rent was $32 a week, a drop in the last 10 years. |
| [12:48 p.m.] | [12:48 p.m.] |
| On July 1, the government introduced the National Firearms Amnesty — a three-month program that will give Australians the chance to hand in unregistered firearms without consequence or cost. | On July 1, the government introduced the National Firearms Amnesty — a three-month program that will give Australians the chance to hand in unregistered firearms without consequence or cost. |
| Australia is a different country now, but it’s important to remember: Over 18 years starting in the late 1970s, there were 13 mass shootings. The deadliest was the Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania, which killed 35 people in 1996. That year, the relatively new prime minister, John Howard, embarked on a remarkable — and successful — 12-day quest to impose gun-control regulations. Mr. Howard wore a bulletproof vest when he explained the measures to gun owners in Victoria. | |
| For all the cultural values the United States and Australia share, each instance of mass gun violence in America seems to leave Australians scratching their heads and gently pointing their friends to the results of their tougher policies. | For all the cultural values the United States and Australia share, each instance of mass gun violence in America seems to leave Australians scratching their heads and gently pointing their friends to the results of their tougher policies. |
| The data is overwhelming. The current rate of homicides involving guns in the United States is 23 times higher than it is in Australia, according to researchers. Australia has not had a mass shooting since Port Arthur. | The data is overwhelming. The current rate of homicides involving guns in the United States is 23 times higher than it is in Australia, according to researchers. Australia has not had a mass shooting since Port Arthur. |
| “I wouldn’t presume to lecture Americans on the subject. I can, however, describe what I, as prime minister of Australia, did to curb gun violence,” Mr. Howard wrote in The New York Times in 2013. | “I wouldn’t presume to lecture Americans on the subject. I can, however, describe what I, as prime minister of Australia, did to curb gun violence,” Mr. Howard wrote in The New York Times in 2013. |
| The National Firearms Amnesty is the first nationwide gun amnesty since 1996. | The National Firearms Amnesty is the first nationwide gun amnesty since 1996. |
| So, why impose an amnesty now? | So, why impose an amnesty now? |
| The government conservatively estimates that there are 260,000 firearms in Australia’s illicit market — perhaps reason enough for the amnesty. | The government conservatively estimates that there are 260,000 firearms in Australia’s illicit market — perhaps reason enough for the amnesty. |
| “We’ve got a deteriorating national security environment, we’ve got an environment where there has been five terrorist attacks on our soil, and sadly, in the vast majority of those cases, it has been an illegal firearm that’s been used,” the justice minister, Michael Keenan, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation last month. | “We’ve got a deteriorating national security environment, we’ve got an environment where there has been five terrorist attacks on our soil, and sadly, in the vast majority of those cases, it has been an illegal firearm that’s been used,” the justice minister, Michael Keenan, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation last month. |
| But one expert was more than a little skeptical of the consequences. | But one expert was more than a little skeptical of the consequences. |
| “If there is one public health intervention to curb gun injury that has been debunked by academics worldwide consistently, it’s small-scale gun amnesties of exactly this type,” said Philip Alpers, an adjunct associate professor at Sydney University who has reported on the wide gap between American and Australian gun homicide rates. “There is no evidence that they reduce gun violence.” | “If there is one public health intervention to curb gun injury that has been debunked by academics worldwide consistently, it’s small-scale gun amnesties of exactly this type,” said Philip Alpers, an adjunct associate professor at Sydney University who has reported on the wide gap between American and Australian gun homicide rates. “There is no evidence that they reduce gun violence.” |
| Mr. Alpers pointed out that this amnesty did not include a buyback system, unlike the amnesty put into place after the Port Arthur massacre. | Mr. Alpers pointed out that this amnesty did not include a buyback system, unlike the amnesty put into place after the Port Arthur massacre. |
| “It was a massive national effort that led to more than a million guns being destroyed,” he said. | “It was a massive national effort that led to more than a million guns being destroyed,” he said. |
| But the government is invested in the campaign, promoting it with print advertisements and through social media. | But the government is invested in the campaign, promoting it with print advertisements and through social media. |
| “They’re trying to look as though they’re doing something,” Mr. Alpers said. “Although a lot of Australians feel that the post-Port Arthur gun laws solved the problem, when they see new shootings, the public tends to get pretty upset. And certainly the media make a meal out of every shooting.” | “They’re trying to look as though they’re doing something,” Mr. Alpers said. “Although a lot of Australians feel that the post-Port Arthur gun laws solved the problem, when they see new shootings, the public tends to get pretty upset. And certainly the media make a meal out of every shooting.” |
| But won’t the prospect of removing those quarter-million-plus illicit firearms make the country measurably safer? Mr. Alpers said the government would not be getting ahold of the guns it wanted to be turned in during the amnesty. | |
| “The guns that are collected in amnesties like this are the rubbish guns. They’re the guns that nobody minds giving up,” Mr. Alpers said. “Semiautomatics — the guns used by criminals to commit crimes — can cost several thousand, sometimes 10 thousand dollars, because they’re so rare here. Those are the guns that nobody expects to get from this buyback, and yet those are the guns of greatest public concern.” | “The guns that are collected in amnesties like this are the rubbish guns. They’re the guns that nobody minds giving up,” Mr. Alpers said. “Semiautomatics — the guns used by criminals to commit crimes — can cost several thousand, sometimes 10 thousand dollars, because they’re so rare here. Those are the guns that nobody expects to get from this buyback, and yet those are the guns of greatest public concern.” |
| [5 a.m.] | [5 a.m.] |