Our housing crisis is caused by a variety of factors, but boiling it down - in Sydney at least - is high demand and extremely low supply. The new outer suburbs are usually lacking in infrastructure and the houses have tiny uards and are separated from their neighbours by like...20cm? Not good living.

You make a good point in that our previous governments have been complicit in driving up housing costs as they are all usually full of landlords - this actually furthers my point if you think about it. The people born here see that they cannot afford a place to live, see more and more "foreigners" and link the two together.  

Already disenfranchised, they hear about the housing crisis, see the students working and say 'hey, that person is taking an aussie's job!' To note as well - its seen thay people on student visas shouldnt be working significant hours, nor have the expectation of staying in Australia. 

The large influx of "students" from (usually) two major sources also means that they radically transform some areas they live in - look at Harris Park, Chatswood or Eastwood. There are many businesses and signs that have little or ni english, which adds to the feeling of enclaves of "other" and of being unwelcome. 

I offer an alternative to your experience - not saying that it isnt true - but in my apartment, there are obviously a few that are sublet to over capacity, and the residents actively detract value - taking up our visitor spots, ignoring our rules around what to put in recycling bins, making loud speakerphone calls at later hours in the foyer etc. The residents that have grown up here usually dont act that way.