This week again saw the notorious "" Hoarders House "of Bondi withdrawn from auction for the forth time. The elderly owner arrived at the Sheriffs office at four twenty-five in the afternoon with a bag carrying one hundred and sixty thousand dollars - in cash. Just months earlier, another forced auction sale had been averted by a similar incident when a hundred and eighty thousand dollars in cash had settled a council cleanup bill.
This house in Boonara Avenue, one of Bondi's prestige streets is a regular item of interest to Sydney residents. It is a "curiosity "because it regularly appears in the news when council work crews with massive trucks and Bobcat loading equipment arrive to to manually remove many tons of household rubbish piled up in and around the house - and completely filling the garden well above fence level.
The owner is an old lady and with her two elderly sisters they appear to suffer some sort of "Repetitive Collection Syndrome ". The moment the house and yard are clear and the council workers leave they commence raiding the wheelie bins of neighbouring properties and piling rubbish gained on their land. All this has absolutely no value and some of it contains food matter which attracts cockroaches, rats and other vermin. The smell is atrocious in summer and the council have declared it a health hazard.
No doubt other Bondi residents must have been disappointed when the owner came up with the cash just twenty minutes before the auction deadline. This noxious eyesore has been an ongoing threat to the area house price for years and each time buyers gather as auction time approaches there is the promise of relief. There is an expectation that the property would fetch a bid above two million dollars and most likely the aged cottage would be demolished to make way for a new home.
We pride ourselves in the degree of personal freedom we enjoy in this country, but surely this is counterbalanced by a duty of care that rests in the hands of the state. We are not free to do entirely what we please. There are laws that restrict many actions that cause damage or loss to others and restrictions apply to what we may build or do with property we own. We are a tolerant society - but there are limits to personal freedom.
Surely the actions of this "Hoarder Family " fall within the bounds of a "compulsive disorder "? The stacking of repulsive rubbish metres deep around a family home is not the action of a normal householder and it presents a health risk to both the residents of that house and others living nearby. As a result, the council acts within the law to send in work crews to clear the hazard.
Basically, this householder is committing "economic suicide "! Eventually, it will not be possible to stave off auction. The property will change hands and the hoarding will cease, but the family will receive the surplus sale proceeds and may buy again in a cheaper suburb - and there is every chance that their hoarding habit will recommence and inflict this same misery on their new neighbours.
Perhaps we need to have a second look at our mental health act. If someone is wilfully dissipating their means of support and living by action inconsistent with normal standards and that action also breaks other laws - there is a need for state intervention to deliver care. In fact it would be reasonable to contend that living amongst rubbish containing vermin would be a risk to the health of the family that required immediate medical action.
There seems to be a reluctance to invoke health laws which contain fairly wide interpretations for fear of accusations that personal liberty is being restricted. This clearly seems to be a mental health issue which ticks all the boxes. The actions of the family are breaking ordinance laws, creating a health hazard for themselves and others - and creating an ongoing drain on their ability to financially survive.
The state would be remiss if it allowed this to continue to its inevitable conclusion !
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