TONIGHT - PROTESTING & HOLDING A VIGIL" outside of the "McGrath Estate Agents" at 5:00pm-7:00pm, 119 New South Head Rd.
BUYER BEWARE: SALE DOES NOT HAVE COMMUNITY SUPPORT
The Millers Point Community today said the NSW Government had failed to win community support for the sale of public housing at Millers Point, Dawes Point and The Rocks.
Millers Point, Dawes Point and the Rocks Public Housing Tenants Group Convenor Barney Gardner said the first of the houses to be put up for sale (119 Kent Street, Millers Point) would be auctioned by McGrath Real Estate tonight.
“Premier Mike Baird and Minister for Vaucluse Gabrielle Upton have failed to win support for the sale.” Mr Gardner said.
“They have no political mandate, and no social license for their cruel program to displace an entire community of public housing tenants.”
“Whoever buys these properties will be contributing to the destruction of a close-knit community, while removing many elderly and vulnerable people from their local support networks.”
Mr Gardner also slammed McGrath Real Estate for profiteering from the sale process.
“If McGrath had any sense of corporate responsibility it would have declined the opportunity to tender for this project.”
“The agent knows these sales are morally wrong because they are being held behind closed doors, under the cover of darkness.”
On behalf of the residents of Millers Point, Dawes Point and The Rocks who are being evicted, I call on people to show their disgust by Boycotting McGrath Real Estate and taking their business elsewhere.”
Note: Member of the Millers Point community will be holding a protest vigil outside the McGrath Real Estate headquarters in Edgecliff between 6pm and 7pm tonight.
WHAT: Millers Point protest vigil.
WHEN: Between 6pm and 7pm tonight, Thursday 21 August
WHO: Millers Point, Dawes Point and The Rocks public housing tenants.
WHERE: 191 New South Head Road, Edgecliff.
GABRIELLE UPTON'S COMEDY CAPERS
By Edwina Lloyd
The spin doctors in Minister Upton’s Office probably thought they were forming a cunning plan to thwart the nasty public housing tenants, but the ridiculous secrecy surrounding the covert auction of the Millers Point properties smacks of Inspector Clouseau rather than James Bond.
I smell a rat.
The sale process has turned into a comical and chaotic display of the Liberal Government’s complete arrogance and disregard for public opinion.
The auctions will be by invitation only, with bidders vetted to make sure they are genuine buyers - and not “plants” who might leak the secret details to either the media or, horror of all horrors, local residents.
It's been reported that bidders at the auctions will be informed of the location just two hours beforehand, via text message.
About a year ago, the Baird Liberal Government announced that it would destroy this close-knit community. Did they really think the locals wouldn’t be a little upset?
Their arrogant, callous and careless actions once again shows that they just don’t care about what people think of them. They don’t listen to the concerns from the community.
As long as they give property developers and wealthy investors what they want, then the broader community can go to hell.
Certainly, Minister Upton has done everything in her power to give people that impression. She has steadfastly refused to meet with the people she is displacing from Millers Point, failed to respond to their letters, avoided their phone calls and even ducked for cover when they inconveniently turned up at one of her press conferences.
As one of the 60 per cent elderly Millers Point residents, Barney, proclaims, “What is she scared of? Does she think we will attack her with our walking sticks? We just want to share our concerns, we deserve that at least, don’t we?”
Safely ensconced in her Double Bay bunker, where she has almost zero chance of running into someone with an annual income of under $150,000, she can reassure herself that flogging off public housing properties in Millers Point, Dawes Point and The Rocks is somehow in the public interest.
Even though, of course, her rationale to explain the sales is completely flawed and based on a lie.
Last week Joe Hockey told us that poor people don’t drive cars. This week Gabrielle Upton is showing us that, according to the Liberals, poor people don’t deserve to live in the city.
It’s that belief which is driving Gabrielle Upton’s program to rid Millers Point, Dawes Point and The Rocks of pensioners and people on low-incomes.
The whole program stinks, the rat is out of the bag, Minister. Cloaking the auctions under a veil of government secrecy won’t disguise the putrid smell of the Liberal’s latest sad, mean scheme.
YOU CAN SUPPORT THE CAMPAIGN!
Sign the online petition- https://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/save-the-heritage-the-community-of-millers-point-dawes-point-the-rocks
Download, print out and fill out & return the paper based petition-https://clrdoutney.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/millers-point-petition.pdf
Support the campaign and buy a T-Shirt Online-
http://www.capturethatphotographics.com/ Mouse over photography projects then click on Save Millers Point it will bring up the T-Shirt Purchase page.
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http://www.pozible.com/project/185489
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