Community comes together to support public housing residents whose homes are to be demolished

With the state in the midst of one of the worst housing crises in history, housing and social justice advocates are joining together to secure the protection and growth of public housing in Victoria.

They will hold a public meeting in Melbourne on Thursday to demand no sell-off of public housing land to private developers and mandatory public housing components in all apartment developments.

The meeting comes ahead of the start of an appeal hearing in the class action against the demolition of public housing towers in North Melbourne and Flemington. The appeal will be heard from Monday, 27 October.

“For residents in the North Melbourne and Flemington public housing estates, now is a critical turning point,” said Louisa Bassini, Managing Lawyer for Tenancy at Inner Melbourne Community Legal.

“Residents are being faced with final housing offers despite the class action appeal not having being heard yet.

“It is also a pivotal moment for the City of Melbourne as whole. If the demolition goes ahead, hundreds of public housing homes will be lost in the inner city. The Victorian Government has said no public housing will be built back on the North Melbourne and Flemington estates.

“We believe there is a better way. Firstly, the government needs to explain why these buildings cannot be renovated and why demolition is necessary.

“It should be building more public housing on the land it owns, including new housing for residents who are temporarily relocated.

“It should not be selling any parts of the estates to private developers, and it should be mandatory for a public housing component to be part of any multi-unit developments on private land.”

As well as Ms Bassini, other speakers at the event will include retired Supreme Court Judge Kevin Bell AO KC, Karen Fletcher from Flat Out Inc, Ebony Bennett, deputy director of The Australia Institute, and several residents of public housing estates in North Melbourne, Ascot Vale and Port Melbourne.

The public meeting will be held at the Capitol Theatre, 113 Swanston Street, at 6pm on Thursday, 23 October

Inner Melbourne Community Legal acknowledges the traditional owners of the land on which we work, the Boon wurrung and Wurundjeri peoples of the Kulin nation. We recognise that sovereignty was never ceded and pay our respects to their cultures and Elders past and present. This always was and always will be Aboriginal Land.

Everyone is welcome at Inner Melbourne Community Legal, regardless of race, religion, gender or sexuality.