<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>[Sydney-Institute] Renovation Nation - redefining prosperity</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
<FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'><BR>
</SPAN></FONT>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>
<FONT COLOR="#800080"><FONT SIZE="6"><FONT FACE="Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:20pt'><B><IMG src="cid:3324456779_413376" ></B></SPAN><B><SPAN STYLE='font-size:24pt'>Redefining Prosperity</SPAN><SPAN STYLE='font-size:20pt'> <IMG src="cid:3324456779_398462" ><BR>
<BR>
Down Under’s Obsession with Homes
</SPAN></B></FONT></FONT></FONT>
<P>
<FONT FACE="Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:12pt'>
</SPAN></FONT>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>
<FONT FACE="Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'><B><I>In his recent address “The Road to Recovery”, Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens said, “We cannot achieve effortless prosperity either on the back of ever-escalating mineral prices or simply by bidding up the prices of our houses.” It’s an obvious and rather common sense point but one rarely acknowledged or, it seems, even understood.<BR>
<BR>
Old habits die hard: Australian politicians have long promoted the wealth and security associated with home ownership, showering it with platitudes, subsidies and tax breaks. Meanwhile in recent years, increasing numbers of homeowners have begun to see their homes more as financial investments than as places to live. But the Global Financial Crisis has demonstrated some of the painful consequences of our obsession with home ownership. So where do we go from here? Is it possible to redefine prosperity so that it’s not just about the stuff we dig out of the ground, nor about endlessly renovated, ever more expensive homes and housing bubbles?
</I></B></SPAN></FONT>
<P>
<FONT FACE="Times New Roman"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:12pt'>
</SPAN></FONT>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>
<FONT FACE="Times New Roman"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:12pt'><BR>
</SPAN></FONT><FONT COLOR="#800080"><FONT FACE="Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'><B> <BR>
</B></SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><B><SPAN STYLE='font-size:12pt'>DR.</SPAN></B><SPAN STYLE='font-size:12pt'> <B>FIONA ALLON<BR>
</B>Department of Gender & Cultural Studies, University of Sydney; Author, most recent<BR>
</SPAN></FONT><SPAN STYLE='font-size:12pt'><FONT FACE="Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><I>Renovation Nation: Australia's Obsession with Home</I> [UNSW Press, 2008]<BR>
</FONT><FONT FACE="Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"> <BR>
<FONT COLOR="#800080"><B><I>Renovation Nation: our obsession with home<BR>
</I></B></FONT><B><I> <BR>
</I></B>Wednesday 13 May 2009<BR>
5.30 for 6 pm<BR>
41 Phillip Street, Sydney<BR>
<B>LIGHT REFRESHMENTS<BR>
<BR>
RSVP: (02) 9252 3366 or <a href="mail@thesydneyinstitute.com.au">mail@thesydneyinstitute.com.au</a>
</B></FONT></SPAN>
<P>
<SPAN STYLE='font-size:12pt'><FONT FACE="Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"> <BR>
</FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman"> <BR>
</FONT></SPAN><FONT FACE="Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:11pt'><BR>
<HR ALIGN=CENTER SIZE="3" WIDTH="95%"></SPAN></FONT><FONT SIZE="2"><FONT FACE="Consolas, Courier New, Courier"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:10pt'>_______________________________________________<BR>
Sydney-Institute-members mailing list<BR>
Please send replies to <a href="mail@thesydneyinstitute.com.au">mail@thesydneyinstitute.com.au</a><BR>
<BR>
------ End of Forwarded Message<BR>
</SPAN></FONT></FONT>
</BODY>
</HTML>