2032. Andrew Jennings
this city has real problems. People cannot afford to live within reach of where they work. You might see that as a threat to your incomes. But I’m going to ask you to consider that the old regime was unstable. Sooner or later it was all going to come unstuck. Cities are born, cities die. The old ways were a recipe for creating a dead city.”
He looked out at the eyes watching him. There was a lot of anger, but also now some puzzlement, along with most paying attention. So far, so good.
“We are going to expand the availability of properties to rent. Of course we can’t do that overnight. It will take time. Rents will fall. But importantly, they will be sustainable.”
Pausing for breath.
“Consider the value of a long term tenant. He or she provides you with income perhaps for many decades. This is of great value to you. In the past, the balance of power has been very much in your favour. We are going to reshape this relationship. To make it more equal. To represent the actual commercial nature of this relationship. You will have targets for maintenance response times. If you miss the targets then it will cost you. As in any normal business relationship. It’s completely unacceptable that you could leave a stove not working for months, or a hot water heater out of action for weeks.”
At the back, there was a swirl of activity. A person got to their feet and shouted at him.
“What about damage to the property. They can just trash it and leave.” Security hovered over him, but Noah gestured for them to move back.
“This will work both ways. Renters that don’t meet quick restitution will be banned from the system. Also renters that fall behind in their payments.”
General murmurs of agreement. It was going well. Time to get to the crux of it.
“I mentioned shifting the balance. We have new categories of ten year plus rental agreements. Renters that break the lease suffer financial penalties if they leave, commensurate with your costs of finding a new tenant. On the other side, if you decide to terminate the lease you have to find an alternative rental for them to move to. It has to be similar to yours, and in a similar location.”
He paused. Expecting trouble. At the back there was a group that had been glaring at him the whole time. At the far left in the rear row, a group of four or five shuffled towards the side. At the same time, a questioner jumped up at the other side.
“We bought these properties on the basis of the law. Rented them out. Now you are arbitrarily stripping the value from them.”
Some scattered applause, general murmurs of agreement. Noah paused, then replied.
“As I explained, the important question here is the sustainability of the old way of doing things. The fact that we have a new government shows that the old way was not sustainable.”
“Bullshit. It shows that you seized power. You’re a dictatorship. Just a jumped up military dictatorship. You have no legitimacy at all.”
As if on cue, the group on the right started heading towards the stage. They made about ten paces before security reacted. Noah stepped back from the lectern. He wasn’t going to run. At the side of the stage people were waving at him to get off, to retreat with the security. But he wouldn’t.
He moved back, and began talking again.
“Legitimacy is earned. I accept that. We will work with you to gain that.”
Now the troublesome group was being ushered out the side doors. As he continued, they were out of sight in the side chamber, where Jack was.
“I question your notion of value. When you buy or sell an asset it is to a community. We all together decide that value. The previous values are never going to return.”
The piercing sound of a single shot rang out from the chamber where the protestors had been taken. The whole room turned around in that direction. There was a look of panic on every face he could see, that quickly turned to very nasty anger. Noah’s heart rate was so fast that he was struggling to speak. He scanned the room, and took in the full intensity of the anger. Security was all over him, he was totally surrounded.
“If you have any questions, I will be here.”
Quickly he moved to the back of the stage and through the back doors to where the protestors were being held. He found that he was shaking.
Jack was standing, smiling as Noah entered.
“What the fuck?” he asked
“Bullet catcher.” Jack said, holding a box up, about the size of a loaf of bread. “Fire a single shot into it and just stops in the box.”
“Next time, can you tell me first?”
“Spoils the impact.”
Ruby meets the backers
It was a temporary office, but they had been there for months now. Robinson Street in Dandenong, just up from the station. Upstairs in an office block. Even now they only used about half the floor. The rebellion was in its sixth month. Ruby was early thirties, with dark hair and thick black rimmed glasses. She glanced out the window. So quiet here. For the moment it was just Ruby and Noah in the office. Noah had the athletic good looks of a young executive. He like to dress well, neatly, as if it projected order over the chaos that filled the office. Noah looked he surfed a lot, but his looks came from long hours at the gym. Maybe it was the blonde hair.
A new government had been elected in a landslide only months ago. The populist new conservatives. Older voters were in the majority, and these guys dished it up big time. Pension rises, benefits, you name it. Now that it was clear how to win elections, they had become shameless. The tyranny of demographics. Most voters were older, didn’t work. A policy to increase benefits was irresistible. The minority of workers who funded this lifestyle didn’t even figure in the political exchange. It was somehow assumed that they would quietly not rock the boat. To work in a city, but not to own even a part of it - to have this thrust in your face every day. Your rental somewhere in the outer suburbs, your journey into the city through the entrenched. That statement, that exclusion.
So the movement had been born. Almost in exile. Dandenong was a business district, but it was always second best. Or third best. Stratified. Know your place. Well, did you? Those that funded the rebellion had certainly had enough. It exploded. In weeks they had enough funding for years of operation. Which left them in this office, with a plan, and expectations from their supporters.
“I’ve had an approach, from a group.” He said.
“What group?”
“Business group. Some military. I think they are powerfully connected.”
“They want to donate? That’s good. ”
“I get the impression that it’s more than a donation, but they are very cautious. Want to meet with you.”
“Just me.”
“Yes.”
“They gave quite explicit instructions.”
“Meet in this warehouse so it can be targeted, that sort of thing?”
Noah sighed. Yes, it was hard to trust anyone.
“They have a boat. On Westernport. They want to meet on the boat.”
“Out in the open.”
“Think about it. We can watch the whole bay. It’s not a busy place. They can watch too. They say they can secure for 100km around.”
“How?”
“Some of them are military, they said. I didn’t get them to elaborate.”
Ruby had more questions, but thought better of it. No pain, no gain. If they really were offering something significant, then she had to take risks.
The car accelerated as they joined the Westernport highway.