Australia used to have excellent social housing programs that have been relentlessly defunded over the past three decades. The current Tasmanian government, despite making ongoing noise about public housing, thinks what Tasmania really needs is an AFL team and a new stadium. It's absolutely disgraceful.

The symbolism of people sleeping in tents on the Bellerive foreshore while the light towers of Bellerive loom behind is hard to miss. Bellerive Stadium, which has already been gold plated well beyond the needs of average Tasmanians is somehow not sufficient.

That one of the big stories in the news today is the socially conscious football fans forcing out the new Essendon CEO. This may be admirable, yet it is the AFL that is pushing for the injection of public funds into their money making machine at the expense of the homeless.