May 30, 2026
Letter to the Editor: Wage and house gap widening

Letter to the Editor: Wage and house gap widening

DEAR News Of The Area,

I would like to respond to this letter: “Today’s young people want everything now” (NOTA, 22 May.)

Yes, Dawn Lewis from Bellingen, both wages AND house prices were lower in our parents’ day, but that gap has been widening significantly.

In 1984, the average home cost about 3.3 times the average income.

Today, it’s more like 9.4 times the average income.

In regards to crime, while [it] increased between the 1960s, peaking in the early 1990s, crime has overall reduced significantly since then, from 40-60 percent.

This has been a global shift across OECD countries.

Youth crime in particular is down 30 percent since 2013 and continuing to decrease.

What I am more concerned about, is the older generation getting their information from AI slop and bots online, or the factually incorrect infotainment that is Sky News.

Kind regards,

Holly QUINN

Nambucca Heads

(Millenial and mother of two)

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