Improving housing outcomes for low-income Australians

Emma Greenhalgh is the CEO of National Shelter, an organisation aiming to improve housing access, affordability, appropriateness, safety and security for people on low incomes. Emma has professional qualifications in urban and regional planning, and is also an Adjunct Industry Fellow at the Cities Research Institute at Griffith University.Emma lives on Yugembeh country on the Gold Coast.

Describe your career trajectory and how you got to your current position.

I have been involved in housing for over 25 years. I cannot say exactly why I was drawn to housing, but I do think it was the combination of my love of geography and a strong interest in social justice drawn from a religious adjacent upbringing.
My university qualifications are in urban and regional planning but I never wanted to work as a planner. I later undertook a research Masters with a focus on caravan parks, and then attempted a PhD but withdrew.

When I finished undergraduate university I went into housing research and undertook my Masters, and then decided to get a ‘real job’ by working in the largest local government in Australia (Brisbane) at a time when they had a real focus on housing and homelessness responses under then administration. I then worked in a range of housing and homelessness positions and organisations with a focus on policy development, research, advocacy, and planning. This included local government, state government, the private sector, the university sector, and not-for-profit sector.

I have never had a career path in the sense that I wanted to be at a certain position/role at a specific point in time. I have just wanted to focus on delivering better housing outcomes and sought out positions that have allowed me to do that.

What does this role mean to you?

This role enables me to continue to advocate for better housing outcomes for lower income households. Safe, secure, affordable housing is foundational for the health and wellbeing of individuals, households, and communities. It is not a glib statement or a slogan. Poor housing outcomes are harmful and deadly and have lifelong implications.
Additionally, this role as CEO of National Shelter also means a respect for the history of the organisation. The Shelter network was established almost 50 years ago by housing activists, and it is important to me to acknowledge this history at such as significant milestone.

Take us through a typical day of work for you.

There is no such thing as a typical workday.

As National Shelter is unfunded by government and relies on membership fees, sponsorship and grants my role in the business can range from meetings (online or face to face with a variety of stakeholders), writing newsletter/social media posts, being focused on the more operational side of the business, or focusing on strategy.
Recently I have been in Canberra for Budget week. This has meant being in the Budget lockup, writing a media release, doing media, and engaging with members.
It is a role that has variety, requires flexibility, but has a lot of stimulation.

The only thing that is consistent to my day is that I start with coffee and the news.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve encountered in your career, and how did you overcome it?

The combination of working and parenting is an ongoing challenge. It was difficult when my son was a baby, and it is difficult now that he is 15. All stages of a child’s life are important and just because he is becoming more independent at 15, it does not mean that my presence is not wanted.
I try to arrange my travel to fit with my shared care arrangements so it reduces the disruption on his life and the time I spend with him.
I am incredibly fortunate that I am in the position that I am so I can arrange my work so that I do not miss out on important school events. It is a privilege that many parents do not have. But I still feel at times that I am failing at everything – that I am terrible at parenting, that my work is not getting enough of my attention, or that I am not seeing my broader family enough.

If you could go back in time, what piece of advice would you give yourself as you first embarked on your career?

Ignore imposter syndrome.

How do you stay motivated to work in this field?

There is still so much work to be done to ensure that people are appropriately and securely housed, and to end homelessness. Motivation comes from passion or anger, or both.
When I feel deflated about funding outcomes or policy direction, I focus on the end goal and what that will look like and the difference that will make for people. It will literally end harm and save lives. The work that we do in systemic advocacy is ultimately aimed at making the lives of people better. This includes making the lives of children and young people better which can transform lives, including education and health outcomes.

I also focus on what this work means for front line service delivery staff. I cannot imagine what it must be like for staff to be assisting people day after day during such a housing and homelessness crisis when options are very limited for clients.

How do you unwind after work?

Music generally. It could be anything really depending on my mood. Something I have listened to quite a bit lately is ‘Nikki’ by Burt Bacharach. It came across my ‘X’ feed and is the most amazing instrumental piece by Bacharach to his daughter Nikki.
The other way I unwind is cooking. I love spending time in the kitchen with music and making something new.
When the weather and seasons are right, I go for a swim in the ocean.

What was the last thing you:

So many things I watch, read or listen to are for work so it is important to me to feed the senses and brain with non-work content.

Watched

I’ve just finished Sugar on Apple TV and Bridgerton series 3 on Netflix. On a recent flight I watched Operation Mincemeat on Netflix about the British deception operation in World War 2 to disguise the Allied invasion of Sicily.

Read
I don’t think the latest Budget papers count!
I have just started reading ‘The Catch, The story of fishing in Australia’. It may seem like an unusual book to read but I heard a story on ABC RN some time ago about fishing in Australia and Indigenous men and women and what happened following settlement. I had completely forgotten about it until recently and went searching for it at my local library.

Listened to?
Podcast – Spies in the Outback (ABC – about Pine Gap)
Audiobook – The Widow Spy, Martha D Peterson. The firsthand account of a true Cold War spy operation in Moscow by the first CIA woman case officer.
Music – REM ‘Automatic for the People’