*  *  *  Introduction The main theme of this Second European Social Week is the establishment of a Civil Society in Europe. This Week is intended to generate initiatives which could contribute towards this goal. At the same time, we need to ask ourselves where the boundaries of a Civil Society lie.
The terms of reference of the Committee are wide-ranging and extend well beyond the areas in which the Reserve Bank has expertise. We will therefore limit our remarks to four areas – namely house prices, housing affordability, housing loan arrears and the rental market. The key points we would like to make are as follows: 1.