There is no better way to demonstrate complete delusion from reality than to invoke the magic language of zero (https://www.humandymensions.com/product/zero-the-great-safety-delusion/).

Anyone who knows anything about the homelessness problem knows that it is a ‘wicked problem’ (https://safetyrisk.net/safety-wicked-problem/) depending on so many interrelated and interconnected factors that, any language of zero is nonsense. Yet, here we see again in the seduction of Zero, projections of eradication of homelessness (https://www.melbournezero.org.au/).

Sure, homelessness is a problem and the source of so much suffering and harm but, seeking perfection and denying fallibility is not a source of intelligence about the problem.

Homelessness is a safety problem with 1500 fatalities a year (https://insightplus.mja.com.au/2025/2/the-potentially-deadly-impacts-of-homelessness/). You can read more about homelessness here: https://www.salvationarmy.org.au/need-help/homelessness-support-services/homelessness-week/homelessness-statistics/; https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-welfare/homelessness-and-homelessness-services

This week is homelessness week.

Having worked in the sector I know that everything from: government policy, poverty, mental health, domestic violence, the education system, employment, substance abuse, drug traffic, addiction, and the nature of power, would all have to be ‘fixed’ to make zero a reality. Oh no, but I am wrong ‘zero is possible’, ‘zero is achievable’.

Nothing is achieved by talking nonsense to people. Indeed, speaking nonsense to people creates massive trade-offs and by-products that are sometimes worse than where we started. Such is the nature of trying to ‘fix’ wicked problems.

Of course, all this does is make the proponents of zero look pretty stupid when their goals are never achieved. And so, this ‘movement’ gets people to ‘sign up’ to what? A slogan!

Just imagine in 10 years-time when more have signed up and homelessness has not been eliminated what will come next? Zero plus 1, beyond zero or 1% safer of course. The outcome of nonsense language is always gobbledygook and irrelevance.

So, what is going to happen. This initiative will start with all the excitement of the slogan, build momentum, not achieve any ‘fixing’, fizzle out and face away in 10 years waiting for the next zero crusade to surface. This is the zero cycle and its outcomes are delusion, disappointment, lethargy, scepticism and negativity.

One of my favourite pictures of the nonsense of zero is provide by Balfour Beatty what some executive was spruiking zero nonsense 13 years ago.

In their latest report the company lists their injury rate (https://www.balfourbeatty.com/media-centre/latest/notice-of-2025-agm-forms-of-proxy-and-annual-report-and-accounts/). This is what stupidity looks like.

The ideology of zero is not just a delusion but generates by-products that are dangerous for understanding the purpose of safety. Safety is not about the reduction of injury rates! Homelessness is not about numerics and metrics. Unless we develop approaches that accommodate fallibility, wickedity and personhood, nothing will improve. Unless, we develop ethical approaches to persons we will never be professional. Repeating the word professional ten times a day doesn’t make one professional. Moreso, we have academics with no expertise in ethics telling us that zero is a moral goal! You couldn’t make such nonsense up (https://safetyrisk.net/zero-is-not-noble-moral-or-sense-able/). How innovative and scientific to declare zero a noble goal (https://safetyrisk.net/zero-is-not-a-noble-goal/ ).

Zero is an immoral goal (https://safetyrisk.net/video-and-podcast-on-zero-as-an-immoral-goal/).

This is crazy. Declaring perfection as a goal for fallible people is a recipe for psychosocial harm.

We hear all this noise of zero from people completely out of touch with reality. We see its cultic addiction (https://www.humandymensions.com/product/for-the-love-of-zero-free-download/) and yet all our research (https://safetyrisk.net/update-on-zero-survey-just-believe/) shows that no-one on the frontline believes it.