91������̳

While new research from the  shows that social housing wait lists are rapidly growing, Victorian and New South Wales Labor are pushing ahead with demolitions despite community resistance.

Activists in Lismore and Mullumbimby lost a bid to stay in empty houses, with the NSW  on May 21 that the government could evict them. But they are not giving up.

Formerly homeless people and activists had been occupying empty dwellings in Lismore and Mullumbimby, which the NSW Reconstruction Authority (NSW RA) had bought after the catastrophic 2022 floods.

Andy George, from Reclaim Our Recovery, told 91������̳ that the NSW RA was threatening to demolish 60 homes by June, “probably as a response to [Premier] Chris Minns’ post-cyclone Alfred panic”.

They said most of these homes are “perfectly liveable” and “many could be relocated off the floodplain”. “The [NSW RA] managed to demolish around 12 but there was a strong community campaign — from concerned residents and businesses — and the bulldozers have left.” 

George said those living at Pine Street are yet to be evicted and are preparing for “an open day to build more support for defending the site against evictions and needless demolitions”. 

Meanwhile, elderly women Esther and Nellie were evicted — in pouring rain — from their home of eight years in Eastlakes, Gadigal Country/Sydney, on May 23.

Esther and Nellie were paid up, with their $750 weekly rent for their two-bedroom apartment, but had been unable to find alternative accommodation. The NSW Sheriff, , evicted the pair, bundled up the two cats, gave a number for homelessness services and changed the locks.

Action for Public Housing was there to protest and help the pair find accommodation. This inhumane move took place just days after NSW Labor passed its , which bans “no grounds” evictions.

While the reform is a step in the right direction, the laws are still stacked in , who can evict tenants to undertake significant renovations or if they decide to use the property differently. Owners are only required to provide reasons for eviction if tenants request it. 

Esther and Nellie had resisted their eviction order for a year, including going to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal. The owner simply said a family member was moving in.

Esther and Nellie, still without permanent accommodation at the time of writing, were given one night’s emergency respite. They added their names to the 65,000 public housing wait list.

Action for Public Housing and Hands Off Glebe organised a protest on May 27 against a public housing estate being boarded up at 82 Wenthworth Park Road, Glebe. The original tenants were threatened with eviction two years ago, but activists won a reprieve, with NSW Housing minister Rose Jackson deciding the dwellings would be for tenants fleeing domestic violence.

Hands Off Glebe activist Emily Valentine told 91������̳ that “architects have developed a plan which would increase density but keep the estate in public hands”, but Labor ignored it. It is a “war on the homeless community”, she said.

At Waterloo South, 150 public housing tenants are being evicted.

Victorian Labor is also demolishing precious public housing, starting on June 2 with the public housing towers at 33 Alfred Street, North Melbourne. But housing activists blocked workers entering the estate for two consecutive days and have since been told that demolition is postponed until further notice. The is concerned that the Flemington estates are next, and are on the alert for demolition preparations.

[Contact local activists to help defend public housing: Pine Street — Andy 0402 725 025; Gadigal Country/Sydney — Rachel 0403 517 266; Naarm/Melbourne — Jordan 0426 151 993.]