Six days ago, a protest camp was set up to blockade the first tranche of the demolition of public housing at the Waterloo estates. Over 150 homes are set to be demolished, some with tenants still living in the ear-marked buildings.
The NSW government is planning on replacing the public housing exclusively with privately owned properties. While some will be privately-owned ‘social housing', most will be in direct private hands and none will be built as public housing. The Waterloo estates are one of the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, and house many Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and migrant communities.
The Housing Minister, Rose Jackson, has labelled communities such as those in Waterloo, as “not functional”.
Meanwhile, the Grattan Institute has identified Sydney as “ground zero for Australia’s housing crisis”.
The camp was set up by a coalition of public housing advocates, including Action For Public Housing, who are calling for the houses in Waterloo to be renovated, rather than demolished.
A rally is planned for tomorrow.
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