The ALP is demolishing public housing during a housing and homelessness crisis.
In 2023, Dan Andrews announced that all 44 of the Public Housing towers in Melbourne would be demolished by 2050, effectively ending the 83 year role of Government in the provision of Public Housing.
Demolition of the 44 towers will displace 10,000 residents from 6,600 homes. The majority of tenants will be moved out of these now prestigious precincts, into less secure and more expensive social and community housing in poorer suburbs, away from their communities and support networks.
The demolition will impose the social costs of increased homelessness and housing insecurity onto our society while providing undisclosed profits to developers and community housing providers.
Victoria has the lowest proportion of public and community housing of any state—2.8 percent.
Allowing public housing to shrink to such a small segment has lessened the public perception of it as normal and essential housing for working people, to one of housing of last resort.
There are 57,400 people on the Homes Victoria social housing waitlist.
Replacing the towers by developer builds will increase the total number of (mostly private) homes by several thousand, but the increase in social housing will be a meagre 10%, while adding many former towers tenants to the waitlist.
In response to the 2025 Parliamentary Inquiry into the Redevelopment of the public housing towers, the State Government refused to hand over 146 secret cabinet documents it claims justifies the demolition of the towers.
Without these documents the evidence supporting the demolition of the towers cannot be tested, commercial arrangements with developers cannot be evaluated, and the case for tower by tower evaluation or the feasibility of refurbishment of the towers is unable to be assessed.
TAKE ACTION NOW
Email Victorian Govt MP’s. Demand that they:
Commit to no further loss of Public Housing (Social Housing is not Public Housing)
Release the reports as requested by the Parliamentary Inquiry
Evaluate the towers individually and refurbish or replace in consultation with residents and resident representative bodies.
CONTACT
Minister for Housing:
Nick Staikos
nick.staikos@parliament.vic.gov.au
ALP Candidate for Richmond:
Sarah McKenzie
sarah.mckenzie@vic.alp.org.au
Also, please copy in upper house ALP MP’s: enver.erdogan@parliament.vic.gov.au
sheena.watt@parliament.vic.gov.au
WHEN YOU VOTE IN NOVEMBER, USE YOUR PREFERENCES WISELY.
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Renters & Housing Union:
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Reference:
https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/get-involved/inquiries/publichousingtowers/reports