Barry O'Farrell Government has Terminated an Inner City Community Millers Point and The Rocks.

19th March 2014..... A sad Day after Barry O'Farrell Government  have Terminate an Inner City Community Millers Point and The Rocks.

We are not talking 1 or 2 or 30 houses but a whole suburb.  293 public housing properties at Millers Point and The Rocks, Gone. The whole community moved to WHO KNOWS WHERE.

Does anyone know if a whole Sydney suburb in recent history was been evicted on this scale.

 

WHY

"Rich People Want To Live Here Now, You Need To Leave.”

http://junkee.com/an-entire-suburb-in-sydney-is-being-evicted/31371

Sticking it to the man!

Resourced: http://landlordwatch.blogspot.com.au/2014/03/sticking-it-to-man.html

 

As a student of law, my primary area of interest is employment and industrial relations law. But I will never forget a job interview I had where a lawyer said I had the personality for litigation. I didn’t get the job, but I still chortle over that remark.

As I discussed in my last post, the NSW Liberal Government is planning on selling almost 300 public housing properties at Millers Point, The Rocks, and Gloucester Street. Minister Pru Goward said the main reason for the sale was the high cost of maintaining heritage-listed homes.

That got me thinking. If the NSW Government is not complying with its obligation to maintain properties, it might be leaving itself open to attack. Housing NSW has obligations under statute and contract. Under section 63 of the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 (NSW), a landlord must provide and maintain residential premises in a reasonable state of repair. This is a term of every residential tenancy agreement. An action could be based on tort like breach of statutory duty.  

If NSW Housing is breaching its legal obligations, the time might be ripe for some kind of group claim. Grouped proceedings provide a remedy where many persons have suffered small losses and it is not economically feasible to recover via individual proceedings. This might be the case here. Part 10 of the Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW) allows for grouped proceedings in the NSW Supreme Court.

That is not to say there aren’t any obstacles. Residential tenancy laws usually specify landlord and tenant disputes are to be resolved by tribunals rather than courts. Under regulation 23 of the Residential Tenancies Regulations 2010 (NSW), the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) has jurisdiction to determine tenancy disputes. It is limited to $30,000 for rental bond matters and $15,000 for other matters. Can we get around this? You might not know what a claim is worth before an order is actually handed down. And there is no requirement that a claim be for a reasonable amount. And plus, a claim on behalf of a group might just be more than the set amount.

Grouped proceedings could facilitate access to justice for the residents of Millers Point, and other public housing tenants. It is a David and Goliath fight. Grouped proceedings could potentially mediate the power imbalance between tenants and the government. Tenants could consolidate their power base by litigating as a group. This is a simple matter of power in numbers. There are other advantages. One advantage is that time limits can be avoided. Residential tenancy laws usually specifies that claims must be lodged within a certain time frame. Another advantage is that group members need not be named. This means tenants would be protected from retaliation.

I don't know whether these arguments would fly, but a grouped proceeding could form part of a well-stocked arsenal.

 

Money, money, money

Resourced: http://landlordwatch.blogspot.com.au/2014/03/money-money-money.html

In my last post, I explored the relationship between the media and government. I analysed an online article about public housing tenants that trash houses. Little did I know NSW Community Services Minister Pru Goward was softening up the public for a sale of public housing on Sydney's harbour front. The article by the Daily Telegraph is an obvious example of forward-thinking strategy.

The NSW Liberal Government is planning on selling almost 300 historic properties at Millers Point, The Rocks and Gloucester Street. The sale includes the landmark Sirius building at The Rocks, a concrete brutalist high-rise apartment complex close to the Harbour Bridge, containing 79 units.

The sale is expected to raise hundreds of millions of dollars. It’s a blatant cash grab. Professor Phibbs from the University of Sydney says the policy seems ‘driven by people trying to get their hands on some quick cash rather than thinking about things from a policy perspective’. If you watch the video of the announcement, Minister Goward provides three reasons for the historic sale. They are as follows:

1. the cost of maintaining heritage-listed buildings is exorbitant
2. the distribution of housing subsidies is inequitable
3. public housing needs to be sustainable in the long-term

Minster Goward made the announcement while her henchmen delivered the news to devastated tenants. There was no consultation. There was no procedural fairness. I have seen this tactic before. Holdfast Bay Council held a confidential meeting to evict permanent residents when it approved a redevelopment of a caravan park.

 

Minister Goward tries to frame the sale as a matter of fairness and equity. I am not convinced. And plus she looks like Cruella Deville from 101 Dalmatians. The resemblance is quie remarkable. But I suppose she can’t help that. The Barry O’Farrell government is selling off houses when the waiting list is miles long and New South Wales has a huge homelessness problem. It’s classic political strategy at its best. They are saying they are helping tenants, when really, they are hurting them.

 

Minister Goward said proceeds from the sale of the historic properties would be reinvested into the social housing system. Somehow I doubt this very much. Shelter NSW's executive officer Mary Perkins says,

We've had a long-time issue with the transparency around the promises that have been made about the sale of stock. They say 'we'll sell this to gain this', but there's never been any evidence produced about the gains...At the end of the day, we've got a really big concern about the geographic divide happening in the city, between these areas [that] are for rich people and these areas [that] are for poor people.

Diversity usually results in better outcomes for the community as a whole. We know that housing estates simply do not work because they localise entrenched disadvantage.

Despite overseeing similar sell-offs, the NSW Opposition has condemned the Liberal Government’s decision. Shadow Minister Linda Burney said Minister Pru Goward could not be trusted to reinvest any proceeds. The Liberal Government has overseen an increase in the public housing waiting list, and a decrease in the number of houses it is building. It has cut $42 million from the budget for maintenance, and $22 million from the budget for building. A report by the NSW Land and Housing Corporation shows that the O’Farrell Government has cut more than 1300 properties from its books.

I am not convinced by the argument older properties are more expensive to maintain. A diverse stock of housing will always involve a range of costs. I seriously doubt NSW Housing will be selling off old government houses in less well-to-do areas of Sydney. The government should not be able to get away with manufacturing excuses by failing to comply with its legal obligation to repair. We know that public housing is ageing and increasingly unfit for purpose. If state and territory governments keep selling off public properties, there is going to be none left. The NSW Government is clearly trying to push a core government responsibility off onto private providers. It is privatisation by stealth.

 

I am also concerned that the human rights of the tenants are not being respected. They are being evicted from their HOMES. It is not humane or compassionate to move elderly residents away from their communities and social ties. Many residents at Millers Point have connections to the area going back generations. The O’Farrell Government has even ignored the advice of its own consultants on evicting vulnerable tenants with minimal damage to their health and well-being. If things get that far, I would suggest pickets to stop police evicting residents from their homes. I don’t think the police would be too keen on physically ejecting the elderly and disabled.

 

I really hope I see media outrage. So far there has been significant coverage. On the whole, it has been fairly sympathetic to the plight of residents. I only hope that it continues. A community action group has already sprung up. You can like the FB page here. We have two years to turn this thing around. So let's do it.

They can't turf us like rubbish, say angry Millers Point residents

 March 23, 2014  Georgina Mitchell

In for the fight: Wendy Ford. Photo: Ella Rubeli

The tiny hall in Millers Point held hundreds of residents, all angry at the state government's decision to sell the area's public housing.

The crowd gathered at lunchtime on Saturday, furious at the prospect of having to leave the houses some were born in. And they didn't hold back.

''These people cannot come in and walk all over us and turf us out like we're rubbish,'' an elderly resident said to cheers. ''We're not going down without a fight,'' another declared.

The heat of the Abraham Mott hall radiated from the packed crowd, who filled all the seats, leaving only standing room. MP Alex Greenwich urged the able-bodied to vacate seats for the elderly as speakers took turns at the podium, offering legal help, solidarity and support from unions.

Among the protesters was Glenda Cox, whose family has lived in the Millers Point area since the 1860s, working on the docks.

''I've been here in the one house for 61 years,'' Ms Cox said. ''I'm 63 now, and my daughter's done the family tree right back to 1860 in The Rocks and Millers Point area. We've worked and lived here all that time.''

I've been in the one house for 61 years": Glenda Cox with her daughter Natalie outside their home. Photo: Ella Rubeli

Permanent housing in The Rocks was offered to dock workers and their families as an incentive for the long hours and dangerous work they undertook.

But with the properties run by the Housing Commission, the tenants now face the prospect of being evicted. Many say they helped to make Sydney the city it is today -

''Where will they go,'' asked Chad Ford, whose mother Wendy lives down the road from Ms Cox.
''They've lived here all their lives - it's all they know.''

Ms Cox said people once looked down on The Rocks as a lower-class area of Sydney, but it has become more appealing because of its history and harbour views.

''In my time, they didn't want to know you,'' she said. ''My father used to walk the Hungry Mile on the docks looking for work.''

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/they-cant-turf-us-like-rubbish-say-angry-millers-point-residents-20140322-35a6l.html 

Letter from the editor: Public housing sell-off a painful debate

Jennifer Duke | 27 March 2014

Change is underway in Millers Point as 293 properties, currently public housing supply stock for 400 residents, are being sold off to make way for private investors and buyers to snap up the offerings. While this makes sense, when looking at the blunt numbers provided by the government, it has pulled at the heartstrings of many causing a debate that's painful to read.
I've been known to use the phrase "investing is about the numbers" multiple times, and stand by it. However, property is unique as a financial choice in that it affects culture and the living conditions of those around the country.
Underestimating the role of a home in continuing family heritage and providing values is far too easy. Regularly, I see listings and stories of homes that have been in a family for decades that, upon a relative's death, are up for auction. They're regularly presented as a "once in a lifetime opportunity" and are often some of the most stunning homes. My heart aches for those that have to sell their history and memories with them. But at least this is, largely, a choice.
For those in public housing in Millers Point there is no choice, and they certainly do not appear to be going without a fight - there was a rally today at 11am, for instance. Sadly, with little of their own assets to boast of and clearly no written-down formalised rights to stay in these properties - what more can they do?
Minister for Family and Community Services, Pru Goward, publicly put out a statement regarding the high value property assets on Sydney Harbour's foreshore, that is those at Millers Point, and the subsequent reinvestment of the proceeds into social housing across the state. This logic truly cannot be argued with. The values in Millers Point have terrifyingly increased over the past years, as you can see in the suburb data here, and so it makes economical sense that 293 properties across Millers Point, Gloucester Street and the Sirius building in The Rocks were focused on for a sale.
Goward pointed to the high cost of maintenance and investment required to improve them to an 'acceptable standard' as part of the reasoning.

"Maintenance on properties in Millers Point costs more than four times the average for public housing dwellings in NSW.  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,” Goward was cited as saying in the release.

"When the previous Government began selling off public housing in Millers Point in 2008 it let other properties here fall into disrepair. That has now left us with repair bills as high as $800,000 to restore some of these terrace houses to heritage standard."
Having jumped on to the New South Wales waiting list to have a look at what public housing contestants, because really that's what it feels like, have to deal with - I was stunned. Many areas have little remaining for certain housing stock with less than a five year waiting period. Some are waiting for even longer.
Goward points to 57,000 families on the waiting list across the state - a terrifying proposition for anyone looking to get housing soon. It must also be nerve wracking to read of the state of public housing, with the ABC reporting last year that the list of those waiting could grow by 30,000 people in three years unless changes are made to a number of aspects of the system.
Goward continued with citing the numbers of the costs of holding these properties. However, this is where the picture becomes more interesting.

“Subsidies to tenants in the last year alone reached $8.89 million, with individual tenants receiving subsidies as high as $44,000 per annum.  This compares to subsidies of $8,000 per year in Campbelltown, $7,000 in Gosford, and $11,000 in Wollongong.  For every subsidised tenancy in Millers Point, the Government could assist five tenants in Warrawong, or 3.5 tenants in Newcastle or Minto," she noted.
A blog post from Brown Couch, the voice of the Tenants Union of New South Wales, sheds light on another aspect to these numbers. They explain that these figures should be looked at as an accounting entry, rather than actual money spent.
The figure is created as the difference between market rent for the property, as assessed by the NSW Land and Housing Corporation, and the rent paid by the tenant, rebated according to the usual rules.

"The market rent for a property does not reflect the cost to the NSW State Government of providing housing or related services at the property. The market rent for a property can go up – and hence the 'subsidy' go up – without any change in the housing being provided at the property, or in Housing NSW's costs," the blog post explains.
"It is important to note too how much tenants have paid towards that real cost of housing. There are 409 social housing tenancies in the properties at Millers Point and The Rocks. We understand the average income-related rent paid is about $100 per week, so, over the past two years, tenants have paid about $4.25 million in rent – in other words, not quite two-thirds of the repair bill."
How this then works out on the books looking further is, as such, uncertain.
As an editor with a budget to manage, and as an everyday resident who has my own personal budgets and targets to maintain, it's logical to find the supposed drain, put a stop to it and move funds into an avenue where they will be more effective. That this makes financial sense is clear to me, despite the welcomed debate of the finer points - and the TUNSW does raise some important points. The simple situation, however, is that these are now lucrative financial assets that can be sold to funnel money back into creating more properties for those on the seemingly endless waiting list.
Goward expressed her acknowledgement that many tenants have lived in this housing for a long period of time, and the difficulties they may face moving elsewhere, but expressed her belief that this was the right decision and that a relocations team would assist the current tenants, including covering costs of moving and reconnection fees.
The fact remains that without ownership of these assets, the tenants do not have rights to them. That is how the property world works at present. Just as a tenant in a privately owned rental in the mainstream market does not have the ability to force a landlord to allow them to retain their tenancy and not to sell the home or let a different tenant live there, a public housing tenant also does not have these rights.
A letter written to the Sydney Morning Herald, shared by the TUNSW's Brown Couch blog, discussed the culture of the area.
"I grew up in a terrace in Lower fort street and my mum still lives there as she has done so for 40 years, laboriously maintaining and restoring her home (largely herself). Even if she is forced to move away, that house will always be our family home and the fact that she doesn't own it does not make that connection or the emotional distress any less valid," the letter is quoted as saying.
It notes that the letter received by her mother said that attempts would be made to relocate her close to her family and friends.
It is likely that this isn't the end. The Herald also recently reported that Glebe, Redfern and Kirribilli are the next sites that could face similar treatment.
Just yesterday, State MP Alex Greenwich slammed the decision as a form of 'social cleansing', and I have read references from a number of different individuals who declare she's ruining the culture on purpose for the property bigwigs in Millers Point and other city locations. These claims are currently unfounded, and when looking at the pure mathematics it makes sense to direct funds where they can have the biggest benefit for the greatest number of people. Of course this isn't just about maths. However, sadly, providing roofs over the heads of the needy at some point needs to trump the heart-wrenching, and they are truly hard to read, discussions of individuals' connections to an area.

It's a situation that is tearing many in two as the best decision is argued out - progress and the situation of the masses versus culture and the individual stories of those residents, and it's certain that someone was always going to leave the debate unhappy. But we need to remember that there are the stories of 57,000 or so others on the waiting list that are likely to be just as awful to read.

RESOURCED: http://www.propertyobserver.com.au/finding/location/nsw/29662-march-27-letter-from-the-editor-millers-point-public-housing-sales-under-scrutiny.html

Money, money, money Bad Landlord Australia

In my last post, I explored the relationship between the media and government. I analysed an online article about public housing tenants that trash houses. Little did I know NSW Community Services Minister Pru Goward was softening up the public for a sale of public housing on Sydney's harbour front. The article by the Daily Telegraph is an obvious example of forward-thinking strategy.

The NSW Liberal Government is planning on selling almost 300 historic properties at Millers Point, The Rocks and Gloucester Street. The sale includes the landmark Sirius building at The Rocks, a concrete brutalist high-rise apartment complex close to the Harbour Bridge, containing 79 units.

The sale is expected to raise hundreds of millions of dollars. It’s a blatant cash grab. Professor Phibbs from the University of Sydney says the policy seems ‘driven by people trying to get their hands on some quick cash rather than thinking about things from a policy perspective’. If you watch the video of the announcement, Minister Goward provides three reasons for the historic sale. They are as follows:

1. the cost of maintaining heritage-listed buildings is exorbitant
2. the distribution of housing subsidies is inequitable
3. public housing needs to be sustainable in the long-term

Minster Goward made the announcement while her henchmen delivered the news to devastated tenants. There was no consultation. There was no procedural fairness. I have seen this tactic before. Holdfast Bay Council held a confidential meeting to evict permanent residents when it approved a redevelopment of a caravan park.

 

Minister Goward tries to frame the sale as a matter of fairness and equity. I am not convinced. And plus she looks like Cruella Deville from 101 Dalmatians. The resemblance is quie remarkable. But I suppose she can’t help that. The Barry O’Farrell government is selling off houses when the waiting list is miles long and New South Wales has a huge homelessness problem. It’s classic political strategy at its best. They are saying they are helping tenants, when really, they are hurting them.

 

Minister Goward said proceeds from the sale of the historic properties would be reinvested into the social housing system. Somehow I doubt this very much. Shelter NSW's executive officer Mary Perkins says,

We've had a long-time issue with the transparency around the promises that have been made about the sale of stock. They say 'we'll sell this to gain this', but there's never been any evidence produced about the gains...At the end of the day, we've got a really big concern about the geographic divide happening in the city, between these areas [that] are for rich people and these areas [that] are for poor people.

Diversity usually results in better outcomes for the community as a whole. We know that housing estates simply do not work because they localise entrenched disadvantage.

Despite overseeing similar sell-offs, the NSW Opposition has condemned the Liberal Government’s decision. Shadow Minister Linda Burney said Minister Pru Goward could not be trusted to reinvest any proceeds. The Liberal Government has overseen an increase in the public housing waiting list, and a decrease in the number of houses it is building. It has cut $42 million from the budget for maintenance, and $22 million from the budget for building. A report by the NSW Land and Housing Corporation shows that the O’Farrell Government has cut more than 1300 properties from its books.

I am not convinced by the argument older properties are more expensive to maintain. A diverse stock of housing will always involve a range of costs. I seriously doubt NSW Housing will be selling off old government houses in less well-to-do areas of Sydney. The government should not be able to get away with manufacturing excuses by failing to comply with its legal obligation to repair. We know that public housing is ageing and increasingly unfit for purpose. If state and territory governments keep selling off public properties, there is going to be none left. The NSW Government is clearly trying to push a core government responsibility off onto private providers. It is privatisation by stealth.

 

I am also concerned that the human rights of the tenants are not being respected. They are being evicted from their HOMES. It is not humane or compassionate to move elderly residents away from their communities and social ties. Many residents at Millers Point have connections to the area going back generations. The O’Farrell Government has even ignored the advice of its own consultants on evicting vulnerable tenants with minimal damage to their health and well-being. If things get that far, I would suggest pickets to stop police evicting residents from their homes. I don’t think the police would be too keen on physically ejecting the elderly and disabled.

 

I really hope I see media outrage. So far there has been significant coverage. On the whole, it has been fairly sympathetic to the plight of residents. I only hope that it continues. A community action group has already sprung up. You can like the FB page here. We have two years to turn this thing around. So let's do it.

 
Resourced: http://landlordwatch.blogspot.com.au/2014/03/money-money-money.html
 

See More:

• ‘Long-term public tenants to be forced out of Sydney’s heritage Rocks area’, The Australian, 19 March 2014
• Nicole Hasham & Leesha McKenny, ‘O'Farrell government ignored consultants' advice on plan to sell public housing at Millers Points’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 21 March 2014

Millers Point Residents have been Delivered its COWARDS PUNCH

A King Hit from O'FARRELL & Pru GOWARDS PUNCH.
Wednesday 19th March 2014

Social Housing

I cannot believe what I am hearing on talk back radio the shock jocks are out for the residents heads, the residents are vilified by the wealthy and the other have nots telling another group of have nots that they should not be there, there is no class war in Australia is there.

I have never heard so much anger towards group of residents, innocent people.

What did the residents do to deserve this. It’s the housing system at fault not the residents they are in a system.
 

NSW Housing has mis-managed maintenance in all areas of Public Housing.

If housing NSW did regular maintenance and check-ups of work completed by their contractors there would not be an issue with maintenance, as some of their work is not satisfactory, if it is  reported to the department it is ignored  I don’t think there Housing client service officers have a degree in building maintenance or understand what is required.
 

There is one report that is saying for every house in Millers Point they spend $44, 000 per year. It’s a lie some of those houses have not had proper maintenance for over 30 years. Someone  is lieing here.

The residents are not bad people, the houses are not that bad and the community is not that bad.

Tuesday 25th March 2014

I am collecting my rubbish bins from the street tonight, and I over hear two well dressed guys walking up the street, say there's one of those housing pricks, look at him, they shouldn't be living here, cant wait to they are turfed out.

Miilers Point Public Housing Sale

Big End of town takeover...   Jamie talks a bit of truth.

Social Cleansing

 Social cleansing (Spanish:limpieza social) is the elimination of what can be considered "undesirable" social elements, such as criminals and the homeless. organizations have engaged in social cleansing in 

Millers Point was delivered its Cowards Punch Wednesday 19th March 2014

I love this article.

Battle for Millers Point lost when Pru Goward took control

By Kirsty Needham

The battle for Millers Point's long-term public housing residents to stay was lost when disgraced former finance minister Greg Pearce was sacked, Fairfax Media can reveal.

The Land and Housing Corporation had received heritage office approval last year to construct a building at Millers Point to accommodate up to 140 long-term residents - avoiding the need to evict elderly residents from the suburb when their terraces were sold.

The advice to the Office of Environment and Heritage in mid-2013 was that a facility would be built within the Millers Point precinct to re-house selected tenants. The Heritage Council would vet its design. The housing department was preparing to lodge a subdivision application for the building.

But two days after Mr Pearce lost his ministry in August, the housing corporation was transferred from Finance into the control of Community Services Minister Pru Goward.

Ms Goward instead favoured removing all public housing from Millers Point, which is set to become one of Sydney's richest addresses.

Ms Goward announced last week that all buildings would be sold off and 400 tenants would be evicted over the next two years, including the descendants of the original Millers Point maritime workers.

After details of the plan to allow 140 tenants to continue living in Millers Point were revealed to Fairfax Media, Ms Goward's office responded, saying the idea had been discarded.

The government has not provided details of where evicted tenants will be relocated, but Fairfax has learnt Treasurer Mike Baird will sign over the title to a large parcel of vacant public housing land in Glebe to community housing groups within weeks.

The O'Farrell cabinet approved construction plans for 153 public housing units, 95 affordable housing units and 247 private apartments on the site last December.

Fifteen public housing apartments in Cowper Street, Glebe, were demolished by the state Labor government in 2011. Labor evicted 130 tenants but promised to build housing on the site with the proceeds of money raised by the sale of 99-year leases to Millers Point terraces.

But the land was left vacant for years as a development application was lodged and contested in court.

Non-profit community housing groups City West and Bridge Housing will construct and manage the new properties, which will be partly funded under the National Rental Affordability Scheme. The units will include lift access for elderly people living alone.

If construction starts this year, the project is expected to be completed in December 2016, which coincides with the timeline for moving elderly Millers Point tenants.

Although the Millers Point public housing, and its community, falls under the protection of the NSW Heritage Act, Ms Goward's office did not consult the heritage office before announcing plans for the sell-off last week.

Heritage guidelines warn that action to disperse the community should be avoided. A spokesman for the Office of Environment and Heritage said on Saturday that ''the listing includes significance associated with the resident public housing community''.

Heritage policies for Millers Point would need to be reviewed in light of the sell-off policy, he said.

Decision breaks a thread to the past

Former City of Sydney historian Shirley Fitzgerald says the decision to evict the historic maritime community from Millers Point is ''appalling''. Another to attack the O'Farrell government is prominent architect Philip Thalis. He described the abandonment of public housing at Millers Point as ''rapacious''.

Ms Fitzgerald, whose book on Millers Point was the basis of its state heritage listing in 1999, said the people were as important to its historical value as the buildings.

Millers Point was the first time a whole precinct - not just individual buildings - was protected under heritage law. The listing says its social significance includes the continuing presence of descendants of the original workers, and its unity and authenticity of community.

''It's not just that they are descendants of the maritime workers, but that governments in the early 20th century seemed to understand that you had to have a place for workers to live in the city, not just the rich,'' Ms Fitzgerald said.

Mr Thalis, the architect who won the original Barangaroo design project and conducts walking tours of the area, says Millers Point is protected under the Heritage Act precisely because it was ''the first real public housing in Australia'' and its value was ''unparalleled''.

The Office of Environment and Heritage on Saturday admitted that the heritage listing included the resident public housing community. A spokesman said the Heritage Council would be asked to review the listing because of the government's decision to remove these people. Conservation guidelines would also be reviewed to put in place a heritage strategy that would ''interpret the period of public housing''.

After the plague hit Millers Point in 1901, the land was resumed by the government, and the government architect built housing for waterside workers. Control of the houses was later taken over by the Maritime Services Board. Public housing tenants from the NSW waiting list only began to live in vacant houses from 1985, when the Housing Commission took over the buildings. But the maritime descendants continued to have the right to pass on tenancies through their families.

The decision to evict the entire community ''shows the gap between enlightened NSW governments and agencies over 100 years and the more rapacious attitude that prevails today'', Mr Thalis said.

Millers Point was a ''magical place'', Ms Fitzgerald said. ''These properties will be worth a motza. But my view is that a city that only responds to market imperatives is not a community,'' she said.

Historian Christopher Keating, who researched Millers Point's early colonial history, said: ''There's a long history of publicly funded housing for poor people in this place. It's a bit rich to say, 'How come they continue to get subsidised housing when someone in Barangaroo will be paying millions for an apartment?' Why can't poor people live in a nice place?''

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/battle-for-millers-point-lost-when-pru-goward-took-control-20140322-35a6f.html#ixzz2wgwMLJgr

Motion to Halt the Sale of Public Housing in Millers Point

Wednesday 19^th March 2014
Turf them all out. Big End of town takeover...
Ignore all impact statements O'Farrell Government rides rough shot over residents.
There is No Transperancy in the O'Farrell Government.

Following the shock evictions, local Millers Point residents sit in question time in NSW Parliament House.    I believe the minister Hon Pru Goward was not acknowledging them. She didn’t listen to a word. She sat there talking – and laughing – all through it.  NO COMMENTS From Minister.

Thank God for Alex Greenwich  lending his voice to the cause.

 

The review of the Millers Point houses began soon after the Government came to power. The O'Farrell Government has bent over backwards to give a billionaire a casino; it is now going to turf out its neighbours—400 vulnerable and elderly people. Where are the priorities? Many in the community were willing to work with the Government to reach an outcome that benefited all. They hoped that only some vacant homes would be sold, with no tenant forced to relocate to another area away from their services and social and family networks. Working with the community, we got the review of properties to include a social impact assessment, which looked at the social costs of displacing vulnerable tenants from their homes and tight-knit community. Despite the Government's initial promise, the department did not make the social impact assessment public for comment before making its decision.

In response to my application under the Government Information (Public Access) Act, I was told that the assessment findings were commercial-in-confidence. I agree with the community that this is an excuse to hide the devastating social impact that selling tenants' homes will have. What about an open and transparent government? I have asked the Information Commissioner to review this absurd refusal. I understand that the social impact assessment is now online, but, of course, the residents have not been notified of that and on my reading of it a number of the recommendations made to the Government have been ignored. No decision should be proceeded with until the wider community is aware of the social costs of this sale.

Millers Point has a long history of providing low-cost housing, originally to wharf workers. The Maritime Services Board also gave properties to the then Housing Commission to manage as low-cost housing. The State Heritage Register recognises the importance of Millers Point's social history—it is listed for its cultural and built heritage. The National Trust has described this community as a "living treasure". The announced sales will destroy this living heritage, which will be a loss to the wider community. Social housing tenants are allocated to areas based on need, including being close to health services, work or a family member being cared for. The inner city is close to transport, jobs and support services and as a result there is a huge waiting list. It can take up to two years for people with urgent needs to be allocated housing and from five to 15 years for others.

It will be impossible to relocate more than 400 tenants in the inner city. Those who are old, frail and socially isolated, or who have a mental illness or an intellectual disability, will be pushed to the fringes of the city, away from the support networks they have worked hard to build. Some tenants have been in their homes for years—some for five generations. The impact on them is unimaginable and costly. It is a furphy for the Government to say that these are all luxury homes with harbour views worth $1.3 million. Many are low-key small units that provide vital low-cost inner-city housing to key workers. One-bedroom apartments without views in the Sirius building and the walk-ups are not worth close to that amount.

Another argument was that maintaining these heritage properties was too costly. The Sirius building and other public housing properties are modern and accessible. They are not falling down and do not cost more to maintain than properties in other areas. This is nothing more than social cleansing of the inner city masked with misinformation. The sale of 293 homes in only two years will flood the market and reduce values. In the long term the Government will lose out with this fast approach, while putting tenants through the unwanted ordeal of leaving their homes and community in a rush. This small and stable public housing community has a long history of connection and social support. There is no history of communal conflict, violence and antisocial behaviour. Millers Point tenants care about and contribute to their community.

Successive governments have failed to maintain Millers Point assets, allowing publicly-owned properties to become run down. Tenants are not responsible for this failure, nor are they responsible for the vandalised homes that have been left empty and allowed to fall apart. The tenants are continuing to be punished. Millers Point is one of the oldest and strongest communities in Sydney. The health and mental costs of the impact of today's announcement on residents cannot be assessed. The sales program will soon begin and a tight-knit community that is vital to the social fabric of the inner city will be devastated.

Housing

- See more at: http://www.alexgreenwich.com/motion_to_halt_the_sale_of_public_housing_in_millers_point#sthash.IOcqe8Yn.dpuf



   Jamie Parker MP speech to NSW Parliament.




Millers Point Public Housing  Tanya Plibersek speech in Federal Parliament.

Millers Point Residents Speak Out On Planned Evictions 20 March, 2014

ABC Radio Interviews. Click on the Blue Links Below:

Elizabeth Farrelly discussing Millers Point with Linda Mottram

Barney Gardner, Millers Point Resident

Wendy Ford, Millers Point Resident

Peter Aland, Millers Point Resident

Sophie Cotsis,Shadow Housing Minister at Millers Point

Two Singaporean Architecture students who happened to be wandering through Millers Point

Millers Point resident John speaks his mind on the sell-off

Reference: http://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2014/03/20/3968161.htm


Anthony Albanese Defends Public Housing:  Click on the Blue Links Below
http://savemillerspoint.blogspot.com.au/2014/03/lessons-for-millers-point-from-anthony.html

Is the state government being too tough, evicting vulnerable tenants from Millers Point public housing? Angela Catterns & Anthony Albanese who says it's important to celebrate the melting pot of Sydney's residents........Almost 300 public housing properties on Sydney's harbourfront will be sold off, raising hundreds of millions of dollars for the O'Farrell government and forcing out residents.
Anthony Albanese Defends Public Housing on 2UE's...Click on Blue Link to Listen:
http://www.2ue.com.au/blogs/2ue-blog/albanese-defends-public-housing/20140401-35v3v.html


'Cowardly' act forces Millers Point residents to move: http://savemillerspoint.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/cowardly-act-forces-millers-point.html

Ready To Fight: http://savemillerspoint.blogspot.com.au/p/ready-for-fight.html

Millers Point public housing residents given two years to move out



Sydney Morning Herald:

Millers Point residents' fears realised:
http://media.smh.com.au/system/ipad/millers-point-residents-fears-realised-4688109.html

Barangaroo a plague on all their houses  

Green bans' hero joins fight to save Millers Point 

'Cowardly' act forces Millers Point residents to move

Millers Point and its sense of community worth more than expensive views

March 22, 2014 Louise Taylor

There was no sense we were lucky or privileged to live there." Photo: Steven Siewert

Most of my childhood was spent on Millers Point (The Point as locals refer to it) and it was a wonderful, close-knit community.

My great grandmother lived in Kent Street for much of her life. My grandparents married and settled there and my father was born and raised in the family home in Trinity Avenue. My other grandfather was the publican at The Captain Cook Hotel for many years. Later my own parents ran the milk bar on the corner. My siblings and I went to St Brigid's, the tiny Catholic school.

People there didn't have large backyards and many no car, so much of life was conducted on the front steps or front rooms of people's homes. You weren't invited over, you just went over. As kids we were always in other peoples' homes playing. You didn't really tell anyone where you were going because there was just a sense you were safe - everyone knew who you were and who you belonged to.

The strength of the community links and feeling of connection to place fostered in this small area cannot be overestimated. There was a strong social fabric holding us together even though people really were doing it tough - The Point community rallied if someone needed something. We shared 21st birthdays, fancy dress balls and fund raising for The Point football team, usually at the Abraham Mott Hall. There's even a song that only true locals know - The Millers Point Mob
.

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When I used to tell people I lived at Millers Point no one really knew where it was and there was no sense we were lucky or privileged to live there. It wasn't a flash place by any standard.

The community has changed as people have moved on and left. But there remains a special, close-knit community. I can still walk into the pub my grandfather ran and be known as ''Russy's daughter''.

The news of the intended sale is incredibly sad. Sure property prices have grown over the years and they reflect an important financial asset to the government, but those residents and their families lived at The Point when no one else wanted to. There is a human side to the financial equation. Simply rehousing residents tramples all over the very strong connections that have thrived there and sustained families for many generations. Rehousing will give people a house, not a community built on a strong history of connection.

The move will see the community fractured and the face of The Point changed irrevocably.
There is a value in keeping our communities diverse, even the ones with expensive views. Much of the history and character of Millers Point will be lost from the area with these residents. There must be a compromise - one that can recognise the value of the assets and at the same time recognise the history and sense of community that is what has made Millers Point special for generations.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/comment/millers-point-and-its-sense-of-community-worth-more-than-expensive-views-20140321-358m1.html#ixzz34W8Rbuhv

O'Farrell government ignored consultants' advice on plan to sell public housing at Millers Points

Nicole Hasham,  Leesha McKenny  March 21, 2014

The O'Farrell government ignored advice from its own consultants on how to evict vulnerable tenants from Millers Point public housing with minimal damage to their health and wellbeing.

A planning expert who reviewed the study said the relocation appeared "clumsy" and "driven by people trying to get their hands on some quick cash".

But Community Services Minister Pru Goward said the government must balance the needs of Millers Point tenants against those of 57,000 families on the social housing waiting list.



The department will make "Every effort to assist tenants to find a property close to their preferred area.": Pru Goward. Photo: Wolter Peeters

The government will sell 300 public housing properties at Millers Point, The Rocks and Gloucester Street, saying maintenance costs and rent subsidies are too high and the proceeds will be reinvested into the social housing system. It is expected to raise hundreds of millions of dollars.
A social impact assessment into selling public housing at Millers Point, commissioned by the government and carried out last year, said some proceeds should be used to build new social housing in and around the suburb, especially for older residents.
It warned relocated residents may experience "ongoing negative impacts of stress and poor health outcomes", especially the elderly, and those with mental health issues or long-term connections to the area.

More than 40 per cent of residents are aged 60 or over and some tenants have links to the suburb stretching back five generations.

The report, by Cred Community Planning, also urged the government to help provide new affordable housing for key workers in Millers Point. It noted a fall of up to 45 per cent in private low-income rental stock in the City of Sydney between 2006 and 2011.

The government rejected the recommendations, saying funds generated by the sale would be spread across the social housing system and older people would be encouraged to "build connections in their new communities". It said the development of affordable housing at Millers Point was the City of Sydney’s responsibility.

A draft of the report was finalised earlier this year but it was not released publicly until Wednesday, the day the government announced the sale.

Ms Goward said the department would make "every effort to assist tenants to find a property close to their preferred area" but would not guarantee they can stay in or near Millers Point.

University of Sydney urban planning professor Peter Phibbs said it made sense to reinvest money from the sale into the social housing, but "the implementation strikes me as clumsy".

"It seems to be driven by people trying to get their hands on some quick cash rather than thinking about things from a policy perspective," said Professor Phibbs, who peer reviewed the consultants' report.

He said moving elderly residents away from their communities and social ties was "not a very humane policy", and was inconsistent with the government's own ageing policy.

Sydney lord mayor Clover Moore said the council's ability to reduce housing prices was limited without state or federal intervention.

"It is extraordinary that the state government is now claiming they don’t see addressing housing affordability as either a responsibility or a priority," she said.

Terry Tooher, 65, has lived at Millers Point for more than 40 years with her husband Colin, who has lived there since he was a child.

Ms Tooher said the couple would resist attempts to relocate them, adding "we are concerned about older friends and neighbours, where we could go and [if we can] go as a group to give each other support", she said.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/ofarrell-government-ignored-consultants-advice-on-plan-to-sell-public-housing-at-millers-points-20140320-355yb.html#ixzz2wlH1Dzks

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.’’