Long-term public tenants to be forced out of Sydney’s heritage Rocks area

March 19, 20142:45PM

Long-term resident Barney Gardner at Sydney’s Millers Point, where public housing tenants are to be evicted and rehoused

 Long-term resident Barney Gardner at Sydney’s Millers Point, where public housing tenants are to be evicted and rehoused

MORE than 400 public housing residents will be moved from their Sydney Harbour foreshore addresses following a NSW government decision to sell off the valuable properties. 
  
The residents will be rehoused over the next two years.

Just under 300 properties in the Rocks will be sold off, with the NSW government saying the money will be ploughed into the public housing system across the state.

Minister for Family and Community Services Pru Goward said the cost of maintaining heritage properties and rent subsidies in the area had become too high.

“Maintenance on properties in Millers Point costs more than four times the average for public housing dwellings in NSW,” she said. “In the last two years alone, nearly $7 million has been spent maintaining this small number of properties.

“That money could have been better spent on building more social housing, or investing in the maintenance of public housing properties across the state.”

Speaking to reporters, Ms Goward said it was unfair that residents living outside the inner city received small rental subsidies while subsidies for inner city properties cost, on average, $25,000 a year.
“For some properties it’s as high as $44,000 a year,’’ she said.

“I cannot look taxpayers in NSW in the eye, I cannot look other public housing tenants in the eye and I cannot look the 57,000 people on the waiting list in they eye when we preside over such an unfair distribution of subsidies.’’
The minister did not provide det
ails on the value of the properties but said government properties last sold in the area for an average of $1.3 million each.

It was expected they would sell for more than that now, she said.

More than 40 Housing NSW staff will help residents, some of whom had been in the area for decades, come up with a moving plan.

“It will begin with a meeting with each household to discuss their housing needs,’’ Ms Goward said.
“They might like to move closer to family and friends on the central coast, they might like to go to country NSW.

“There will be options for many of them.’’

Tenants reacted angrily to the announcement.

“We are not moving one iota,’’ said Colin Tooher, whose family have lived at the same Millers Point address for six generations.

“Think about it, (NSW Premier) Barry (O’Farrell), and think about it bloody hard.

Mr Tooher said he had only learned he would be turfed out within two years after Wednesday morning’s announcement.

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore was outraged by the decision to sell off the Millers Point social housing.

“Millers Point is one of Australia’s oldest communities, in the most historic place in our country,’’ she said.

“Many residents here have connections to this area going back generations.

“More than 400 people have been betrayed by the government’s decision to sell all these properties without any consultation.’’

NSW MP and member for Sydney Alex Greenwich was also angry.

“We can’t underestimate the health and mental costs, and impact on residents of today’s cruel announcement,’’ he said.

“The government has broken their promise to the people of Millers Point that they would be consulted and that a social impact statement would be released prior to any decision.’’