Demand for public housing grows as government sells homes

November 15, 2014

James Robertson

The sale of public housing at Millers Point is set to raise the the NSW government hundreds of millions of dollars. Photo: Tamara Dean

Thousands fewer Sydney families are living in public housing, as demand grows and the government demolishes and sells homes just to keep the system afloat.

New figures reveal about 139,500 NSW households live in public housing, or 2300 fewer than two years ago.

The NSW government has demolished or sold about 6000 properties in the past four years, as its bill for repairs rises towards half a billion dollars.

In the same period, the number of new homes the government builds each year has more than halved,  to 440 in the past financial year.

Hal Pawson, a Professor of Housing Research and Policy at UNSW, said the figures showed the state government was being forced to use more of the federal government's grants for building homes instead to pay for day-to-day repairs.

"The government is addicted to sales," he said. "Funding used to be used for investment in new housing, but over the past 10 years the growing deficit means none of that is available. They're having to use all of it just to balance the books.

"It means there's going to be fewer houses available."

Sale of public housing has been under way for a decade but reached a peak last year and will rise again in the coming two.

The housing waiting list grew about 3.5 per cent to nearly 60,000 this year; it will grow to more than 80,000 by 2016 according to projections.
And the shortage is hitting Sydney's major growth in the south-western suburbs the hardest, analysis by the state opposition shows.

About 670 more Bankstown families are seeking public housing now than three years ago but in that time the number of local houses available to them has fallen by about 220.

In Campbelltown there are 1400 fewer houses and about 130 additional families.

"Society's most vulnerable, the elderly, frail and low-income families are missing out," opposition housing  spokeswoman Sophie Cotsis said.

Numbers on the waiting list represent about half those who need housing, according to the NSW Auditor-General's report in 2013.

Deputy CEO of the NSW Council of Social Services John Mikelsons is lobbying the state government to devote money from the privatisation of assets to new housing: "It is clear NSW is becoming less and less capable of meeting demand."
The sale of 206 homes at Millers Point alone is, on some estimates, likely to raise up to $500 million for government coffers.
Family and Community Services Minister Gabrielle Upton has refused to say specifically where it might be spent, except to guarantee it would go back into the social housing system. "We can reinvest the proceeds into more new homes," she  said.

Forecasts by the NSW Auditor suggested a total of 4000 homes may be up for sale in 2014 and following three years.

Mrs Upton said the government inherited a housing system with deep structural problems.
The minister said next year's budget allocated $121 million for new homes, and $491 million for property maintenance and upgrades, a 30 per cent increase on previous years.

"The budget of $121 million in new supply will see the commencement of 759 public housing dwellings and the completion of 443 dwellings," she said.

But Professor Pawson said it was questionable how much would be used to buy more houses.
"It's very notable that no clear commitment has been made," he said. "You can only draw the conclusion that the priority is entirely about keeping the system afloat".

He said federal government funding was not enough to bridge the gap between what poor tenants could pay and the cost of running houses

The government's maintenance bill last year hit $220 million and a further $180 million was spent on upgrades.


RESOURCED: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/demand-for-public-housing-grows-as-government-sells-homes-20141115-11nc5z.html

Sirius uncertainty at The Rocks

November 15, 2014 
Toby Johnstone

The Sirius building at The Rocks turned 35 this month, but its architect fears its days are numbered.

The concrete brutalist building, which rubs shoulders with the Harbour Bridge, has been lobbed in with the government sell-off of public housing in the Millers Point precinct, sparking fears the new owner will look to capitalise on its prime position by knocking it down.

The state government has refused to release any detail about the plans for the block, other than reiterating it is "committed" to the sale.



Future unknown: The Sirius building in The Rocks is part of the state government's sell-off of public housing. Photo: Steve Lunam

Architect Tao Gofers said he would be "very pissed off" if the government allowed the next owner to flatten the building.

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It was a sentiment echoed by most of the speakers on an expert panel convened at Parliament House in Sydney on Thursday.

The forum was organised by state MPs Jan Barham, from the Greens, and Labor's Sophie Cotsis to discuss the future of the building and its residents

The staggered brown building is an example of Brutalist architecture. Photo: Rick Stevens

Known by many for  its "One Way Jesus" sign, which has greeted Harbour Bridge motorists for the past decade, the block of 79 apartments has attracted a fair share of criticism over the years.

When it was unveiled in 1980 the National Trust dubbed it "the lump on The Rocks", while the minister for planning at the time described it as "damned awful".

At the time Mr Gofers told the Sydney Morning Herald he was "not worried about the criticism. People will accept it in three to four years".

Mr Gofers only regret is the colour: the original plan was for it be white like the Opera House.
"When we were finally starting the concrete works they came to me and said 'we have to save $200,000; let's take the white cement out', and I agreed," he said.

"I have kicked myself for 35 years."

Curator and architecture writer Charles Pickett said "Sirius is a great success of public housing".
"It is a very special building and it deserves to continue to be part of The Rocks," he said.

The building was purpose-built for ageing public housing tenants who had been displaced during the redevelopment of The Rocks in the 1970s. Its approval marked a compromise between the state government and Green Bans activists who were fighting to keep working-class people in the area.

The head of developer lobby group Urban Taskforce, Chris Johnson, said Sirius was "a building of its time" and the government should allow the new owner to give it a "radical makeover".

"The government needs to make sure it is not encumbered by heritage restrictions that would prevent it from becoming a better building," he said.

"It would dramatically limit the value of the building if it had to stay as it is."

Asked whether the State government would prevent the new owner from knocking the building down, the Minister for Family and Community Services, Gabrielle Upton, said: "Arrangements for the sale of the building are yet to be determined."

She also said that "the City of Sydney's planning and building controls will apply".

On Thursday, City of Sydney lord mayor Clover Moore vowed to support the campaign to prevent the eviction of Sirius tenants.

"The city very strongly supports the campaign to prevent this loss," she said.

"The whole thing is really depressing."

One of the residents, Myra Demetriou, is deeply troubled by the government's eviction plans.
"I've been with my ophthalmologist and my GP for 25 years and they are in the city, so I am not about to go anywhere else," she said.

The 88-year-old is legally blind and can't climb steps.

"[Sirius] is just wonderful for me, I've got a ramp to go in and two lifts and what more could you want?" she said.

Ms Demetriou said it would be "an absolute disgrace" if the government allowed the building to be torn down once the residents had been evicted.

Ms Upton said "the funds realised by selling the Sirius building will assist many people needing public housing".

However, given the land is currently owned by the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority, it has not been made clear how funds from the sale would flow to the Department of Family and Community Services.

Government Property NSW is handling the sale, which will occur within the next two years.

RESOURCED: http://smh.domain.com.au/real-estate-news/sirius-uncertainty-at-the-rocks-20141114-11lt8j.html