Current political constructs are ill-equipped to deal with a situation that requires fast-thinking and spending lots of money (perhaps wastefully).
Australia has the same structural issues, but got lucky – helps being an island – shutting our borders hard and fast. COVID cases and deaths so far have been so low we are the envy of the world, along with NZ and some Asian states.
Shutting borders meant zero tourists, and hotels were quickly empty. Meanwhile homeless people were perceived to be at a high health risk in any future outbreak.
Some political party policy person put the two together, and homeless people spent a year or more in hotel rooms.
My angle on that, is this:
- refugee crises have not gone away
- office blocks are empty
- CBD restaurants are failing
We have shelter in empty office buildings. It is not economic to turn those buildings into apartments, the conversion costs are too high. However, curtains for walls, and an ablution block in the corner of each floor is totally do-able.
We draw the line at kitchens, and here is why. They are dangerous, expensive to set up, and inefficient relative to my proposal:
Remember how I said CBD restaurants are failing – well, the refugees with no cooking facilities, we give them vouchers for local cafes and restaurants. The refugees eat out. Office block owners get some income. Local food businesses stay afloat.