Current

OPEN LETTER TO STOP THE DEMOLITION OF MELBOURNE’S 44 PUBLIC HOUSING TOWERS  

12 March 2024

Dear Premier Allan and Minister Shing,

We, the undersigned, write to urge you to halt the demolitions of Melbourne’s 44 public housing towers announced in September 2023 and to take immediate action to protect, maintain and expand public housing in Victoria.

Public housing is essential.

Housing is not just a human right, but the very foundation upon which we build healthy, connected and meaningful lives. Public housing has historically been the most stable, affordable and durable form of rental tenure available in Australia.

Public housing has been neglected.

Decades of government failure to appropriately maintain and upgrade public housing in Victoria has significantly compromised the quality of these dwellings, and therefore the quality of life of many residents. We argue that this disinvestment must be addressed.

Public housing residents have not been properly consulted.

A lack of genuine, timely consultation with public housing tower residents has led to distress and confusion among these communities. This is particularly the case in North Melbourne and Flemington, where residents who were subject to traumatic hard lockdowns during the COVID pandemic in 2020 are now being re-traumatised by the sudden announcement that their homes and communities will be demolished.

Refurbishment and renewal have not been properly considered.

Despite a series of meetings convened by Homes Victoria after the announcement, the Victorian government has still not provided residents, or the public, with a clear case or justification for the decision to demolish rather than refurbish and upgrade the flats.

Communities will be destroyed.

Housing is not interchangeable. Residents’ lives and communities are embedded in the places that they live, supported by long-standing relationships with place-based community services. For example, AMSSA Mosque is a significant community hub for North Melbourne public housing tower residents and has been a site of long-term community investment and connection.

Waiting lists will blow out further. Homelessness will increase.

The demolition of public housing during a housing crisis will impact tens of thousands of people without homes who have been waiting for years on the Victorian Housing Register (VHR). In September 2023, there were 60,708 applications on the VHR. Nearly 85% of these were new applications, and more than half of new applicants are priority-listed due to homelessness, domestic and family violence and disability or illness. Demolishing existing public housing will blow out already unacceptable waiting times.

Why is the Victorian Government demolishing public housing - the only housing many people can afford - during a catastrophic housing crisis?

We call on the Victorian Government to:

Halt the demolition and redevelopment of Melbourne's public housing towers until a thorough, transparent and independent investigation is undertaken into the viability and cost of refurbishment and upgrades, beginning with the North Melbourne and Flemington flats.
Provide residents with clear and comprehensive and timely information about the rationale for any relocations required during refurbishment works, including where residents will be moved to and for how long.
Provide all residents with a legally binding assurance that guarantees their right of return as public housing tenants to their original estates within an agreed time-frame.
Make a formal apology to public housing tower residents for the distress and alarm that has been caused by the announcement of the tower demolitions, and for the lack of respect and care shown to residents by its delivery.

This letter has been endorsed by the following organisations and individuals:

ANTIPOVERTY CENTRE — AUSTRALIAN MUSLIM SOCIAL SERVICES AGENCY — BETTER RENTING — COHEALTH — DRUMMOND STREET SERVICES — FITZROY LEGAL SERVICE — FLAT OUT — HOUSE YOU — KENSINGTON NEIGHBOURHOOD HOUSE — MELBOURNE SOMALI COMMUNITY INC. — RENTERS AND HOUSING UNION — SWELTERING CITIES

COUNCILLOR TIM BAXTER, CITY OF PORT PHILLIP — COUNCILLOR SUE BOLTON, CITY OF MERRI-BEK AND SOCIALIST ALLIANCE — COUNCILLOR TIM SINGH LAURENCE, CITY OF DAREBIN

sign the Letter

PAPER SIGNATURES NEEDED FOR PARLIAMENTARY PETITION TO SAVE PUBLIC HOUSING

Please sign the Parliamentary petition started by high-rise public housing resident Elena Suares to stop the destruction and privatisation of public housing in Victoria. Only 2000 paper signatures are required to force a debate on the matter in Parliament, compared to 10,000 digital signatures! Elena’s petition has been sponsored by Greens Member Samantha Ratnam, and you can find a copy of the paper version here, translated explanations about the purpose of the petition here*, and instructions for how to collect and return signatures below.

*Amharic, Simplified Chinese, Dinka, Greek, Khmer, Oromo, Somali, Tigrinya, Turkish and Vietnamese.

sign the paper petition

Current

OPEN LETTER TO STOP THE DEMOLITION OF MELBOURNE’S 44 PUBLIC HOUSING TOWERS

12 March 2024

Dear Premier Allan and Minister Shing,

We, the undersigned, write to urge you to halt the demolitions of Melbourne’s 44 public housing towers announced in September 2023 and to take immediate action to protect, maintain and expand public housing in Victoria.

Public housing is essential.

Housing is not just a human right, but the very foundation upon which we build healthy, connected and meaningful lives. Public housing has historically been the most stable, affordable and durable form of rental tenure available in Australia.

Public housing has been neglected.

Decades of government failure to appropriately maintain and upgrade public housing in Victoria has significantly compromised the quality of these dwellings, and therefore the quality of life of many residents. We argue that this disinvestment must be addressed.

Public housing residents have not been properly consulted.

Refurbishment and renewal have not been properly considered.

Despite a series of meetings convened by Homes Victoria after the announcement, the Victorian government has still not provided residents, or the public, with a clear case or justification for the decision to demolish rather than refurbish and upgrade the flats.

Communities will be destroyed.

Waiting lists will blow out further. Homelessness will increase.

Why is the Victorian Government demolishing public housing - the only housing many people can afford - during a catastrophic housing crisis?

We call on the Victorian Government to:

Halt the demolition and redevelopment of Melbourne's public housing towers until a thorough, transparent and independent investigation is undertaken into the viability and cost of refurbishment and upgrades, beginning with the North Melbourne and Flemington flats.

Provide residents with clear and comprehensive and timely information about the rationale for any relocations required during refurbishment works, including where residents will be moved to and for how long.

Provide all residents with a legally binding assurance that guarantees their right of return as public housing tenants to their original estates within an agreed time-frame.

Make a formal apology to public housing tower residents for the distress and alarm that has been caused by the announcement of the tower demolitions, and for the lack of respect and care shown to residents by its delivery.

COUNCILLOR TIM BAXTER, CITY OF PORT PHILLIP — COUNCILLOR SUE BOLTON, CITY OF MERRI-BEK AND SOCIALIST ALLIANCE — COUNCILLOR TIM SINGH LAURENCE, CITY OF DAREBIN

PAPER SIGNATURES NEEDED FOR PARLIAMENTARY PETITION TO SAVE PUBLIC HOUSING

*Amharic, Simplified Chinese, Dinka, Greek, Khmer, Oromo, Somali, Tigrinya, Turkish and Vietnamese.

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SPHC has meetings every three weeks on Saturday afternoons 3PM at All Saints Anglican Church Northcote, VIC. Email for next date: savepublichousingcollective@gmail.com