00:00 Sari Morrison has lived her whole life on the Gold Coast, loving its relaxed outdoor
00:07 lifestyle, but now she can't afford it.
00:11 My closest friends and family live on the Gold Coast and I miss them immensely, but
00:18 I know it's not my home anymore and it can never be.
00:22 The rent on her one bedroom Gold Coast apartment increased by 30% over four years.
00:29 Almost 70% of my wage was going to be going on my rent.
00:33 Her only option was to leave her slice of paradise behind and move in with family in
00:38 Gladstone.
00:40 The Gold Coast is now the most unaffordable region in Australia.
00:44 The average rent on the Gold Coast is $820 a week.
00:49 $820 a week, that is the highest in the country.
00:52 In July, Queensland legislation came into effect limiting rent increases to once a year
00:57 rather than every six months.
00:59 Housing affordability advocates are also calling on the state government to limit how much
01:04 landlords can increase rent by pegging it to CPI.
01:09 When workers and average people are priced out of these communities, it really hollows
01:13 out these areas and you've got a question now in areas like the Gold Coast of who actually
01:17 lives there.
01:18 For Sari, she's trying to stay positive in her new hometown.
01:23 People wanting to have conversations with you in the supermarket, it's very foreign.
01:28 So people are very friendly up here.
01:30 A silver lining to a widespread problem.
01:33 Thank you.
01:34 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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