Alex Greenwich update
Despite repeated assurances from the minister’s office that no decision had been made, we found out last Wednesday that the Government intends to sell off the entire community of Millers Point public housing in two years, displacing 400 tenants from this tight knit community that has supported vulnerable people for over a century. The inner city already has massive waiting lists and now we will have less housing stock.
The government's media campaign contained a great deal of misinformation. Not all properties are $1.3 million Georgian terraces with harbour views needing costly heritage upgrades; sales include modern accessible apartments, newly upgraded terraces and one-bedroom 1980s flats. The decision puts public tenants in areas with rising property values on notice, and I’ve had calls from tenants in areas like Woolloomooloo, Chippendale and Surry Hills asking if they too will lose their home.
Frail, elderly people and those with a mental illness or disability need stable housing close to services, jobs, transport and social networks. The government’s social impact assessment argued these people should stay to prevent social isolation; health policy supports ‘ageing in place’.
The city needs a diverse mix of people, and in Parliament I moved an urgent motion calling on the government to halt sales. Along With Lord Mayor Clover Moore I held a community meeting to inform and support tenants. I’ll work with the local community including the newly formed Millers Point Defence Committee to oppose this sale.
The online petition to save their community is HERE.
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