AIRBNB: “WE ARE THE LONE CHAMPION”
Airbnb Australia and New Zealand’s head of policy Brent Thomas recently said the company is the “the lone champion of new anti-party house laws in Victoria…Airbnb would ensure bad actors who repeatedly do the wrong thing will …have the book thrown at them...to protect listings”.
The recent ‘champion’ record in Victoria includes:
25 October 2017 – 36-year-old Ramis Jonuzi was (reportedly raped and) killed by his Airbnb landlords as he attempted to leave their property.
06 December 2017 – An Altona beach rental sustained $150,000 of damage during a wild party.
20 December 2017 – A police officer was injured after an out-of-control party at a Werribee rental property.
30 April 2018 – Up to 50 partygoers trashed a $1.2 million North Melbourne property and pelted police with objects.
07 May 2018 – Revellers damaged a Footscray rental and brawled in the street.
18 June 2018 – A Carnegie rental property was trashed and neighbours were threatened after an out-of-control party.
01 July 2018 – Dozens of revellers threw a wild party at a Hawthorn East rental property, assaulting an elderly neighbour who had to be hospitalised.
21 July 2018 – 19-year-old Laa Chol was fatally stabbed at a party in a CBD short-stay apartment.
07 September 2018– Three people were arrested after a man was found dead in the same CBD building where Laa Chol was fatally stabbed. No further details on this incident have yet been released.
Please click here for the short trailer to a soon-to-be-released documentary on “a different kind of monster: housing as a financial asset, a place to park money”. We are not the only ones who are calling on our Legislators to respect the fundamental human right to safe, secure, affordable housing. Plus our proprietary rights must be respected. NSW Legislators will not listen.
Early this year Airbnb Australia “teamed up” with Twitter. Two days ago we earned a ‘thumbs up’ on Twitter from Leilani Farha, the United Nations Human Rights Special Rapporteur on Housing. Yesterday Twitter “suspended” our account again – fourth time – claiming ‘abusive behaviour’. It appears that Airbnb’s head of policy was none-too-pleased with our ‘tweeting’. Is this a giant compliment? After all, Twitter allows Donald Trump to churn out what must be deemed a constant flow of ‘abusive behaviour’…and yet we are repeatedly booted off the Twitter platform.
Twitter, wrote to us: “We consider abusive behaviour an attempt to harass, intimidate or silence someone else’s voice.” Twitter, just because you’ve hooked up with Airbnb, please stop silencing us.
Homes not Hotels Communities not Transit Zones People before Profits
Neighbours not Strangers
