An Australian man who has spent the past seven months homeless – despite being a skilled tradie with years of experience – has delivered a raw, unfiltered message he says every Aussie needs to hear.
Godfrey Condon, an electrical instrumentation technician from Greater Brisbane, has worked gruelling FIFO shifts, paid his taxes, and ‘done everything by the book’ – yet still ended up living without a roof over his head.
In a powerful video that has struck a chord with thousands, Mr Condon lays bare his frustrations with the cost-of-living crisis, the housing market, government policy, and what he calls the ‘social decay’ gripping the nation.
This is his full, unedited message.
So, it’s just been over seven months of being homeless. A lot of hard lessons mentally and emotionally, but I’ve come out of it clearer.
I’ve had time to really reflect on where this country is going. And I want to share what I’ve seen, what I’ve lived, and why I think Australia’s in serious trouble.
I’m Godfrey. I’m an electrical and instrumentation technician and I’ve done everything by the book. Got a trade, done FIFO, paid my taxes, but somehow I still ended up homeless. And now I’m planning on leaving Australia.
Godfrey Condon, an electrical instrumentation technician from Greater Brisbane, has worked gruelling FIFO shifts, paid his taxes, and ‘done everything by the book’ – yet still ended up living without a roof over his head
He accuses leaders of ramping up immigration ‘at a reckless speed and volume,’ fuelling a housing crisis so severe that families now live in tents
During the pandemic, we were locked in our homes like criminals, allowed for just one hour a day, while our so-called leaders and their mates ignored the rules completey, travelling, gathering, living freely, as the rest of us were punished for doing the same.
If you dared question it, you were shouted down, labelled an anti-vaxxer or conspiracy theorist.
We lost our freedom to choose, and many lost their jobs. And while we were locked down, they dropped interest rates to 0.1 per cent, encouraged people to dip into their super, handed out stimulus cheques, and flooded the market with cheap debt.
At the time, mortgage repayments were cheaper than rent, so many first home buyers rushed into the market without fully grasping the long-term consequences.
When rates eventually rose, house prices soared, but not because of real growth, but because of artificial stimulus.
Fear took over. People rushed in, terrified of being left behind. Meanwhile, everything kept rising: groceries, fuel, rent. And instead of fixing that, our government gave us a referendum to argue over.
Over the past few years, they’ve ramped up immigration at a scale the system can’t absorb. That’s my issue – not immigration itself, but the reckless speed and volume.
It’s pouring fuel on the housing crisis. Vacancy rates are at rock bottom. Lines at rental inspections stretch down the block.
Godfrey has seen men ‘breaking down from burnout,’ families torn apart, dads losing time with their kids.
Families are living in tents. We see this every day. It’s exhausting just trying to find something half decent. And what they ask for it is daylight robbery. And even then, you’re up against 50 others.
In the past 12 months, I’ve dealt with two different real estate agents.
One handed us a home infested with cockroaches and rats, completely unliveable. And the other left us in a flood-damaged property, refusing to take action during an emergency situation, saying they were only allowed to spend up to $250 for maintenance.
They ignored our concerns completely. That was the final straw that pushed us into homelessness.
There’s no accountability anymore.
And with vacancy rates so low, they know they can get away with it. This isn’t just an economic crisis anymore, this is social decay. I’ve lost the freedom to choose where I live in my own country.
This didn’t happen by accident. We financialised housing to the point where it’s no longer about shelter, it’s just speculation.
We glorify OnlyFans models, tradies, property investors, and everyday Aussies stacking investment properties like housing is the ultimate measure of success. For many tradies, it’s a way out of the collapsing middle class, riding the bubble instead of relying on the trade that once gave them dignity and stability.
And for everyday Australians with a mortgage, the illusion of wealth created by rising property values keeps many content and silent despite everything else crumbling behind the scenes.
From paying tax to living in a tent – Godfrey said the housing crisis is swallowing working-class Aussies
Safety in this country has fallen apart, knife crime, youth gangs, violent assaults in broad daylight.
These problems are happening nationwide now: big cities, small towns, country communities. And yet, we let violent offenders walk free on bail back out into our streets. But we’re told to stay quiet. We stay quiet in fear of being called a racist for pointing out what’s right in front of us.
Wages have flatlined while everything else keeps climbing, debt, stress, depression. Median house prices have now passed a million dollars, ten times the average wage. Nearly half of this country is living on less than $1,000 a week. One unexpected bill or emergency and it’s all over. And with 43 per cent of Australian adults expected to face a mental health crisis, that’s not a coincidence, that’s cause and effect.
And still, the government pushes fake solutions. They blame a supply issue while letting builders collapse and flooding the country with demand.
Then they offer a 2 per cent deposit loan with the government as guarantor. It sounds helpful, but it’s another trap, more debt, more control, and no real solution. We gave in, got muzzled, traded our values for a beer or a mortgage. Now we’re trapped, multiple jobs, side hustles, overtime just to stay afloat.
I see a lot of men struggling but holding on to the old ‘she’ll be right’ while quietly breaking down from burnout.
Families are breaking apart under the pressure. I see dads getting caught up in custody battles, barely getting to see their own kids.
We’ve normalised being in debt forever, staying silent at work to protect your job, paying income tax to build and maintain gas plants while they ship it offshore only for us to buy it back at a premium.
Dozens queue outside a tiny Sydney rental – all for a chance at a home
We’ll promise cheap electricity through green energy, but now people have to choose between heating their homes and putting food on the table. And it’s the working-class Aussies who pay the biggest price.
I spent years doing maintenance overhauls on gas plants, oil refineries, power stations, doing 12-hour shifts weeks on end. We miss birthdays. We miss family. We miss the chance to actually be there just to keep this country running. Meanwhile, the profits are sent overseas and we get the leftovers.
This system doesn’t care about us. It cares about banking stability and asset prices.
If house prices fall, it triggers negative equity, bad loans, and severe knock-on effects across the economy.
So instead, they import demand to prop up the market and protect the banks, even if it means pushing everyday Aussies into homelessness.
Nearly one in five Australians work in the public sector, fully relying on government income.
When that many people depend on the system to survive, who’s left to question it? Dependency breeds silence, and silence breeds decay.
We’ve sold off our land, our homes, our resources, all to the highest bidder. The value is created by working Australians while the profits are shipped off overseas.
Median house prices have now passed a million dollars, ten times the average wage. Nearly half of this country is living on less than $1,000 a week, he claimed
We’ve lost something deeper, our purpose, our sense of community.
Modern society has created adults that are completely dependent on banks, on government handouts, on a health care system that treats illnesses from the food that we’re sold.
And I believe all of this is rooted in fake wealth created by a currency that’s constantly being devalued.
And when money loses value, so do people, especially men. It weakens them. It silences them. It turns them into obedient workers instead of strong voices.
We’ve traded resilience for convenience, truth for comfort. And in that silence, addiction takes root. Men escape into porn, video games, gambling, social media.
Short-term dopamine hits numb the pain but never fix it. It keeps us passive, distracted, disconnected from each other and from ourselves. We become stats in a system that values debt over dignity.
The shiny façade of prosperity is hiding a deeper rot. No one’s thriving, just surviving.
We no longer hire based on merit. We hire based on quotas. Skilled Aussies are overlooked to tick diversity boxes.
We can’t even agree on what a woman is, let alone guide children through childcare without confusing them into thinking they’re animals.
We can’t even agree on one day to celebrate this country. Yet, we’ll dedicate full weeks and even months to identity campaigns while everyday Australians struggle in silence.
He said Aussies were divided by a referendum, distracted by identity politics, while our standard of living collapsed behind the scenes
Everyone mocks it in the lunchroom, but no one dares say a word in public.
You know, I used to think Australians would stand up and say ‘enough,’ but we didn’t. We were injected with a vaccine just to go to work or grab a beer.
We were divided by a referendum, distracted by identity politics, while our standard of living collapsed behind the scenes.
And rising property prices give many a false sense of wealth, keeping them just comfortable enough not to question any of it. Debt, dopamine, and division – that’s how they keep us compliant.
I’ve let a lot go. Being homeless has stripped me of my material things, and it’s opened my eyes. I’ve seen the poverty, the addiction, and the despair.
And I know it’s only going to get worse. So, I’m carving a new path. I’ve quit the industry because I can’t justify working to fund a system that punishes the very people that keep it running.
I spent years building and maintaining infrastructure, only to see the profits go to banks, foreign companies, and a government that doesn’t care. I’d rather be homeless and free than keep playing this rigged game. I’m just a bloke who’s had enough. I don’t have all the answers, but I can’t stay silent.
I hope by sharing this, it offers some perspective – something real, something grounded, something that we’re all living through. I’m not here with a master plan.
