I am regular commentator on Australian housing and home cultures. My writing appears in The Conversation and Parity Magazine and has been syndicated nationally through ABC News, SBS, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, among others. I contribute to radio and print media across the country including ABC Radio National, ABC News Radio and ABC Local Radio across the country.
Parity Magazine
- Older Women on the Edge: Struggling in the Private Rental Sector, Parity Magazine.
- ‘Responsible home ownership’: A barrier for homelessness policy?, Parity Magazine The belief that home ownership is an individual choice and responsibility is dangerous. It suggests that non-home owners have simply not made the right choices and gives government a mandate to ignore the needs of people who are homeless or struggling to live in unaffordable rentals. Older Australians are especially at risk.
- Housing: an infrastructure of care for older Australians, Parity Magazine. The present crisis in the housing system is not just a crisis of affordability. It also represents a failure of housing as an infrastructure of care.
The Conversation
- Australia's housing laws are changing, bud do they go far enough to prevent pet abandonment?
- 'Can I have a pet and be housed, too? It all depends...
- 'Uprooting, no matter how small a plant you are, is a trauma': older women renters are struggling. High rents and insecurity are constant sources of financial and emotional stress for low-income women. They describe what it's like struggling to survive and being one step away from being homeless.
- Why housing evictions must be suspended to defend us against coronavirus. The COVID-19 pandemic is a double crisis affecting public health and the economy. And both aspects are playing out in our housing system – in our homes.
- Is this a housing system that cares? That’s the question for Australians and their new government. The Morrison government, having added a housing minister to its ranks, needs to recognise housing as having more than just economic value. Its impact on our ability to give and receive care is critical.
- How to cope with extreme heat days without racking up the aircon bills. Air conditioning isn't the answer for everyone, especially for residents of the less affluent – and often hotter – suburbs of our big cities. But there are other ways to make hot days more bearable.
- Life as an older renter, and what it tells us about the urgent need for tenancy reform. Proposed changes to NSW rental tenancy law are an improvement, but do not end the excessive rent increases and “no grounds” evictions that put renters – and older women in particular – at risk. (Syndicated to SBS, among others)
- I won’t be at home at Christmas, I have a dog. Christmas can be a particularly hard time of year, and dogs are a vital support for many of the most vulnerable in our society.
- Speaking with: Emma Power and Jennifer Kent about why Australian cities and homes aren’t built for pets. Dallas Rogers speaks with Emma Power, urban cultural geography senior research fellow at Western Sydney University, and Jennifer Kent, urban planning research fellow at the University of Sydney, about why a nation of pet lovers doesn’t seem very interested in planning for pets.
- Three reasons the government promotes home ownership for older Australians. Government strategies to manage population ageing largely assume that older Australians are home owners. The problem with this approach is that not everyone is or can be a home owner. (Syndicated to Domain, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, Property Observer, and others).
- Is this the budget that forgot renters? For the majority of Australia’s renters, housing will remain unaffordable, insecure and out of reach following the 2017-18 federal budget. (Syndicated to Domain, The Age, ABC News, and others).
- For renters, making housing affordable is just the start. We need three key policy changes to help make renting a viable long-term housing option (Syndicated to ABC News, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, and others).
- Explainer: the financialisation of housing and what can be done about it. The winners and losers from a financialised housing system, and what can be done.
- Sydney needs higher affordable housing targets. At least 15% of housing in new private developments, and 30% of housing on publicly owned land should be designated affordable. (Syndicated to The Sydney Morning Herald, Domain, and others)
- As pet owners suffer rental insecurity, perhaps landlords should think again. Rental policy rarely recognises pets as important members of households. Instead, landlords and property agents typically restrict the right to keep pets. (Syndicated to ABC News, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Canberra Times, & others)
- Reimagining NSW: four ways to boost community well-being and why it matters. Part of the Reimagining NSW Series, commissioned by the The Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Ret’d) Governor of New South Wales, and the New South Wales Vice Chancellor’s Committee.
- With the rise of apartment living, what’s a nation of pet owners to do? Australia is a nation of pet owners. Yet as the popularity of apartment living grows, this culture is increasingly at risk from strata regulations that restrict the keeping of animals. Are these laws out of touch? (Syndicated to SBS and others)
- Hidden housemates: when possums go bump in the night. Although common brushtail possums are usually associated with bushland environments these adaptable creatures are also highly attracted to human houses. (Syndicated to Australian Geographic, Domain & others)
Hort Journal
- The changing face of the garden in Australia, How suburban garden cultures have changed in Australia over time.
Radio
ABC Radio
- Housing Part 1. Care Ethics. The Philosopher's Zone, ABC Radio National "These days we're increasingly led to think of a house as a commodity, an investment to be turned into profit. But what does it mean to think of a house as a site of care, rather than an asset in a system of market exchange? This week we're re-centring people in the housing value debate." Featuring Kathy Mee and Emma Power.
- News coverage of the "Housing and housing assistance pathways with companion animals" report. Dr Power speaks about the private rental housing system, and the significance of pet-inclusive housing options for people experiencing domestic violence or homelessness. Coverage includes: ABC News Radio nationally, 702 ABC Sydney, ABC Mid North Coast NSW, ABC New England North West AM, ABC Upper Hunter AM, ABC Illawarra, 1233 ABC Newcastle, ABC North Coast NSW, savings.com.au, Mirage News, Elite Agent Magazine and E-Global Travel Media.
- Extended interview on the significance of pet-inclusive housing options for people experiencing domestic violence or homelessness. Interviews broadcast across the ABC News Radio network, ABC Radio Broken Hill, ABC Radio Illawarra, ABC Radio Goulburn Murray, and ABC Radio New England North West. Online coverage includes ABC News Online and MSN Australia.
- The housing have-nots, ABC RN 'The Money' with Richard Aedy, across Australia (from 08'48").
- Older women tell heartbreaking stories of rental stress, ABC PM across Australia.
- Older women in housing crisis as experts appeal for rental law overhaul, 2GB.
- Older women struggling in the private rental sector, 2SER (at 46'00").
- The Future of Renting in Australia , ABC Radio National Breakfast.
- Older women in the private rental sector: unaffordable, substandard and insecure housing report released, news briefs on 2GB, ABC NewsRadio, 702 ABC Sydney, 774 ABC Melbourne, 666 ABC Canberra, 936 ABC Hobart, 612 ABC Brisbane, ABC Sunshine Coast, 720 ABC Perth, 1233 ABC Newcastle, ABC Upper Hunter AM, ABC Central Coast NSW, ABC Coffs Coast, ABC North Coast NSW, ABC North and West SA, ABC Goulburn Murray, ABC Illawarra, 891 ABC Adelaide, ABC Broken Hill, ABC Alice Springs, 105.7 ABC Darwin, smooth fm91.5 Melbourne, amongst others.
- ABC News Radio - How to stay cool during heatwaves
- Radio National, Breakfasts - The Future of Renting in Australia
- ABC Darwin, Breakfasts – commenting on changes to tenancy legislation in the Northern Territory that will make it easier for renters to have pets.
- ABC Central West, Mornings – discussing life as an older renter (3/10/18)
- ABC Radio Illawarra, Breakfasts – discussing the housing risks facing single older women who are not homeowners in the Illawarra region (12/9/18)
- ABC Radio Sydney 5pm News – discussing Census 2016 release – Median weekly rent has increased faster than median weekly income. Single-person and single parent households are among the most affected. (27/6/17)
- ABC Radio Newcastle 5pm News – discussing Census 2016 release – there is a need for flexible and affordable housing options to accommodate families living on a single income. (27/6/17)
- ABC Radio Canberra Drive – discussing the need for greater security in the rental market and arguing for three key policy changes in tenancy legislation. (21/4/17)
- ABC Radio Brisbane Statewide Evenings program – Chatted with Trevor Jackson about the changes needed to make renting more affordable and secure in Australia. Listen here (from 23’45”) (20/4/17).
- ABC 702 Evenings program – Chat with James O’Loghlin about the challenges renters face finding pet-friendly rental properties.
- ABC 891 Adelaide – About the health and social benefits of pets, and pets in apartments.
- ABC Newcastle Evenings program – About how people live with native wildlife that cohabits their home.
- 666 Canberra Drive program – About pet-friendly apartment policy and design
- ABC Tropical North 12.30pm News – About how councils and developers could create a better sense of community by building more pet-friendly units.
- 612 ABC Brisbane – Kieran Clair, Editor, Australian Property Investor discusses my research: challenges renters with pets face finding rental properties
2SER Radio
- Housing is an infrastructure of care
Your Strata Podcast
- Your Strata Property podcast –How to deal with pets in strata buildings
2UE 954 News Talk
- Jimmy Thomson (flat-chat.com.au) discusses the Renting with Pets research.
2GB 873AM
- About finding pet friendly rentals, and the ways that pets help to build a sense of community
The Guardian
Sydney Morning Herald
- Tenants Feel heat with nowhere to go. "Western Sydney University Associate Professor in Geography and Urban Studies in the School of Social Sciences Dr Emma Power said it was a landlord's market, and this had far-reaching implications for Sydney as tenants cut costs to keep a roof over their heads." (15/10/22, print).
Canberra Weekly
- Older renters struggling, but not just because of the pandemic. "Western Sydney University’s Emma Power said for older renters on very low incomes, the pandemic has only exacerbated affordability issues in the housing system, with many older renters unable to afford basic essentials like food and bills, as well as experiencing social isolation."
ABC News
- Older female renters are the ‘canary in the coal mine’ for housing affordability. “The women I’ve researched have had difficulties paying their electricity costs, maintaining heating and cooling,” Dr Power said. “They’ve had difficulties being able to afford food and are dependent on charities like food kitchens and banks in their local neighbourhood. These issues are going to be more widespread in Australia over time unless we do something urgently to tackle the issue.”
- Apartment living in a dog-eat-dog world. how dogs contribute to sense of community in apartment buildings.
Central News
- Running out of time with nowhere to go. “Dr Emma Power, from the University of Western Sydney, has been researching older, asset–poor women in the private rental market since 2016. She said they are at particular risk of housing insecurity and homelessness…”
Domain
- Women have less property price growth than men, US study finds. “Emma Power… noted decisions to buy and sell were driven by far more than optimum price points.”
The Fifth Estate
- Census reveals the consequences of a growing housing affordability crisis. “Dr Emma Power added that Australians were also paying higher rents, with median household rent increasing at a greater rate than median personal income.” Read more.
Property Observer
- Few measures in budget to help renters.
- Budget 2017’s housing affordability plans likely won’t have major impact.
Tenants Union of NSW
- The Landlord’s budget. “It’s been dubbed the Budget that forgot the renters.”, Tenants Union of NSW Blog.
Border Mail
- Housing investment plea. “We do actually need to see government committing to this and not just relying on the private market to provide housing,” said Dr Power
- Social Housing Scant. “Dr Emma Power said it was clear that housing affordability was having a significant impact on the rising rate of homelessness.”
Huffington Post
Daily Telegraph
- Pet project for high-rise living: New bylaws propose making it easier to keep pets in apartments. About proposed changes in NSW Strata law to allow pets to live in apartment buildings, and the social benefits that pets can bring in neighbourhoods.
- On the way to the top: Families are opting for the convenience of apartment living. About the trend towards families considering apartment living.
- Scratching the anti-pet clause: Why are landlords so reluctant to rent to pet-lovers. About why it is difficult for renters with pets to find pet-friendly rental properties.
Residential Property Manager
- Pet friendly rentals have an advantage. About the challenges renters face finding pet-friendly properties.
smallanimaltalk.com
- Living with pets: interview with Dr Emma Power. About my research background and renting with pets research.
realestate.com.au
- Groundbreaking study about pets and renters, About how moving house can lead to renters giving up their pets.
Hills News
- Renting with a pet, About the challenges renters face finding pet-friendly properties, and the connection between renting and pet relinquishment.
Financial Review | Sydney Morning Herald
- Tenants and pets: the truth is out there.
The Sunday Telegraph
- A dog’s life for renters: tenants battle to keep pets – About the stresses that pet owners face trying to find pet friendly properties.
- Pet-friendly property on the rise. About the trend towards pet-friendly apartments.
and syndicated across: Parramatta City Star, Liverpool Champion, Campbelltown-Macarthur Advertiser, Camden Advertiser, Fairfield City Champion, Hills News, St Mary’s Star, Blacktown Sun, Northern News.
Strata Community Australia
- Planning for pet-friendly strata. About how dogs help to build a sense of community in apartments and neighbourhoods.
Weekend Australian
- Pet Owners Unite! – About the need for pet-friendly apartments.
- Flats with bang for their buck: Cashing in on demand for pet-friendly apartments. About growing trend for pet-friendly apartments and the benefits dogs can bring for sense of community.
News Local Central Sydney
- Wanted: Dog Lovers. About the social benefits of pets, and my research about pets in apartments.
MX
- Dog ban paw for high life
North Shore Times
- Puppy love good for unit dwellers
Real Estate Journal
- Pets boost strata communities: research shows pets can promote more than good health, they can benefit Owners Corporations and agents too.
Redland News, Brisbane
- Push for high-rise households.
Parramatta Sun
- Carefully count cost of owning high-rise hound
- Study weights up benefits of dogs in high rise places
Penrith City Star
- Things are looking up for dogs
Street Corner
- Sky high puppies: Research to explore the lives of four-legged friends in high-rise homes
Campus Daily News
- Sky High Puppies: Research to explore the lives of our four-legged friends in high-rise homes.
Sunday Examiner
- Pet properties on the rise
Yahoo! News Australia
- Apartment living in a dog-eat-dog world
Housing Journal Podcast
The Housing Journal Podcast is a collaboration between the best Taylor and Francis housing journals; the International Journal of Housing Policy, Housing Studies, and Housing Theory and Society. This international podcast is hosted by Dr Dallas Rogers and Dr Emma Power (Australia) from International Journal of Housing Policy, Dr Beth Watts (UK) from Housing Studies and Dr Julie Lawson (Netherlands) from Housing, Theory and Society.
Other Podcasts
Your Strata Property Podcast
Interview – How to deal with pets in strata buildings.
City Road Podcast
Interviewed –Pets and Cities - You can’t take your dog on the train in Australia, and if you’re a renter owning a pet, well that can make things really difficult when you try to secure a home. In this episode of City Rd Podcast we talk with Drs Emma Power from the University of Western Sydney and Jen Kent from Sydney University, about why Australian cities don’t necessarily share Australians’ love of pets.
Panelist, NSW Government Inquiry into Homelessness amongst older people aged 55 and over in New South Wales, 19 July 2022. https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/committees/inquiries/Pages/inquiry-details.aspx?pk=2865#tab-termsofreference
Talk, Housing affordability in Western Sydney: what can local government do? Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC) Strategic Planning Workshop, June 2022 (withdrew due to contracting COVID-19).
Seminar, Shadow Care Infrastructures: Sustaining life in post-welfare cities, Department of Geography, The University of Manchester, UK, May 2022.
Opening Panel, Care infrastructures in unequal worlds, Visualizing care: imaginaries and infrastructures, Duke University, May 2022.
Panel, Getting the most out of your DECRA, Australian Research Council induction session for new DECRA recipients, March 2022.
Keynote, Housing: a care infrastructure. The Housing Assembly: Creating Socially Valuable Housing. The University of Melbourne, November 3-5 2021.
Panel, Declining housing affordability, Wicked urban challenges in western Sydney: researchers respond, Urban Living Futures and Society, Western Sydney University, Research Week Event, October 2021.
Talk (with Federal Shadow Minister for Housing and Homelessness), Housing Values, Auburn Branch of Australian Labor Party, September 2021.
Panel, Pets, community and well-being in cities, What’s endangering public health in urban environments? The Festival of Endangered Urbanism, The University of Sydney, September 2021.
Panel, A better housing experience, ‘Our homes: getting the best out of public and community housing’, Tenants Union of NSW industry and key stakeholder workshop, June 2021.
Keynote lecture, Shadow Care Infrastructures: sustaining life in post-welfare cities, Australian Housing Theory Symposium ‘Care under neoliberalism’, The University of Tasmania, June 2021.
Panel, Women and Housing panel, Talk: ‘Why we need to value housing differently’, inaugural Labor Party NSW Rank and File Women’s Conference, May 2021.
Panel, Gender inequity in cities and regions, Australian Cities Research Network ‘Speaking Out Series’ inaugural panel, May 2021.
Workshop, Silver linings and dark clouds in academia: prioritising parenting, care and connections in academic work, Early Career Urban Researchers, Network, School of Architecture, Design and Planning, The University of Sydney, May 2021.
Panel, COVID-19 and older women’s housing crisis, Reflections on 2020: Gender Equity Lessons and Opportunities, Western Sydney University IWD 2021 celebration, March 2021.
Seminar, Older women at risk, NSW Land and Housing Corporation, within the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, February 2021.
Keynote, Older women’s housing experiences, Launch of Wentworth Community Housing micro-units for older women, alongside State Government representative, October 2020.
Panel, Older women renting during COVID-19, COVID-19 and vulnerable households: impacts and solutions, Affordable Housing Hallmark Research Initiative, October 2020.
Panel, Housing within a just and caring post-pandemic recovery. Post-pandemic Urbanism and just recovery, The University of Sydney and The University of Wollongong, June 2020.
Seminar: Housing: an infrastructure of care, Health in Places, Spaces and Interspecies Relationships: towards more-than-human health promotion, University of Wollongong, Nov 2019.
Seminar: Assembling the capacity to care: caring-with precarious housing, GEOPlan Seminar, Macquarie University, June
Seminar: Housing: an infrastructure of Care, Institute for Social Policy, Housing, Equalities Research, Heriot-Watt University, March 2019.
Make Renting Fair, Keynote, Renting in later life, Parliament House NSW, October 2018.
National Homelessness Conference. Panel member, Older people and homelessness, talking on “Housing as a care infrastructure”, Melbourne, 6-7 August 2018.
Cities of Care Symposium, Keynote, Assembling caring capacity: care as a process of caring-with, University of Melbourne, 2018.
National Housing Conference. Keynote at launch of report, Ageing on the Edge in NSW – A State of Crisis for Older Renters, Darling Harbour, Sydney, 2017.
Older Women and Violence: Innovative Policies, Programs and Practices Symposium. Bridging Housing & Home: Older women’s housing security. Older Women’s Network (OWN) and School of Social Sciences & Psychology, Western Sydney University, Wednesday 21st September, 2016.
Tenants Union of NSW 40th Anniversary Forum House and Home: Looking back, looking forward. Monday 15th August, 2016. Discussion panel with Dr Dallas Rogers and Ned Cutcher, Senior Policy Officer, TUNSW.
New South Wales Vice Chancellor’s Committee Future Vision: Reimagining NSW Project, February 2016.
Australian Companion Animals Council Think Tank 2013 Keynote speaker, Renting with Pets: The Challenges, June 2013.