Sold for substantially less than the average price of a house in Orange, many of these ex-Housing NSW properties only needed a bit of care and attention for them to be turned from a house into a home.

Over the past several years Central Western Daily staff have met many of these new property owners who said they’d waited a long time to finally have something to permanently call home. 

Since moving in many of them have undertaken a raft of home-improvement projects from erecting new car ports to landscaping gardens.

While many credited the government with helping them become proud home owners, some say their dream has turned into a nightmare as they battle the anti-social behaviour of the public housing tenants, including very young children, who are now their neighbours.

Several residents in Bowen’s Nunkeri Place, Mirral Way and Tumbeelluwa Place have contacted journalists on numerous occasions this month claiming they don’t know where to turn for help.

They say police are often unable to act on the vandalism and anti-social behaviour in the area because they haven’t caught the perpetrators in the act.

STORY: UNCHALLENGED, WILFUL DAMAGE: VANDALS RUNNING RIOT IN BOWEN

One man said that he and his partner no longer take holidays together because they don’t know what will happen to their house in their absence.

It’s a pity that an initiative that sounds so good on paper has proved so problematic for many.

Let’s hope police can intervene and catch those responsible for the anti-social behaviour and the Department of Family and Community Services can reprimand its tenants and evict them if necessary.

However if there’s anyone who should be deemed responsible for the problems in Bowen it’s the parents of the young children who are committing the crimes.

Being a parent doesn’t mean just loving your children, it also means guiding them and ensuring they are both safe and law abiding.