LORD MAYOR CLOVER MOORE's LETTER TO THE HON. BRAD HAZZARD; MP

THE LORD MAYOR OF SYDNEY
CLOVER MOORE


2 7 APR 2015

The Hon. Brad Hazzard MP

Minister for Family and Community Services
Minister for Social Housing
GPO Box 5341
Sydney NSW 2001
By email office@hazzard.minister.nsw.gov.au

Dear Brad

Congratulations

I write to congratulate you on your appointment to the Family and Community Services and Social Housing portfolios.

I look forward to working cooperatively with you for the benefit of our residents on the critical issues of housing affordability, provision of social housing, and homelessness within the City of Sydney Local Government Area (I-GA).

Sydney is in the midst of a housing affordability crisis that is threatening its economic and social sustainability. The cost of buying or renting private market housing in the inner-city is increasingly beyond the reach of low and middle-income earners, there is limited supply of key worker affordable housing; a lengthy, growing waiting list for social housing; and, rising homelessness.

I would like to offer you a briefing on the City of Sydney's Housing Issues Paper, which contains a range of proposals for Local, State and Federal Government to work together to improve housing affordability and diversity. The City is currently working with Urban Growth NSW to investigate opportunities for affordable housing on a number of urban renewal sites.

I read with interest your comments in the Sydney Morning Herald that you would consider retaining some public housing in Millers Point, recognising the impact of relocation on long-term elderly residents.
I strongly encourage the retention of some public housing in Millers Point, especially the Sirius apartment building, which was purpose-built for social housing and is home to mostly elderly residents.

I would also like to bring a delegation of Millers Point residents to meet with you.

The social impact study undertaken by SGS Economics and Planning for the Government stated that removing older residents from their homes could have negative health impacts. City officer's delivering services in Millers Point and The Rocks have reported significant levels of distress amongst tenants who do not want to relocate because of a long term commitment to the area and their wellestablished connections to neighbours and support services.

Sydney Town Hali 483 George Street Sydney NSW/ 2000
Phone 02 9265 9229 Fax 02 9265 9328 cmoore@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
O OLM2015 002348 HAZZARD CONGRATULATIONS MEETING REQUEST

The City remains concerned that the Government hasn't made a commitment to build new housing in inner Sydney or that plans for spending the proceeds of the sale on new social housing stock have not yet been made public.

Your staff can contact Julianne Brewer, Manager Executive Support on 9265 9591 or at jbrewer@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au  to arrange a meeting.
Clover ore

Lord Mayor of Sydney

MILLERS POINT: CITY COUNCIL of SYDNEY NOTICE of MOTION. MON. 27th APR. 2015‏

ITEM 14.7 Millers Point 27 April 2015 

It is resolved that: 

1. Council note: 

 

1. the new Minister for Social Housing, Brad Hazzard, has stated his commitment to transparency for the Millers Point sell-off process through setting up a bank account specifically for the proceeds; 

the Minister has recognised the importance of maintaining the older residents within the community of Millers Point; and 

the City's recommendation for continued commitment to providing support to the Millers Point community through financial aid to the Redfern Legal Centre; 

2. Council welcome the Minister's statement that he would consider retaining some public housing in Millers Point; and 

3. Council note that the Lord Mayor has written to the Minister for Social Housing, to. 

reconfirm the City's commitment to working with the State Government on the critical issues of social housing provision, homelessness and housing affordability in the City of Sydney; 

2. request that the Lord Mayor and a delegation of Millers Point residents meet with the Minister; 

3. strongly encourage the retention of some public housing in Millers Point, especially the Sirius apartment building; and 

reiterate the City's concerns that the NSW Government has not made a commitment to build new housing in inner Sydney or release details on how the proceeds of sale will be spent on new social housing. 

Calling on Minister Hazzard to open the door to Millers Point Residents

Posted on April 24, 2015 | Leave a comment   

      

This Council cycle my Notice of Motion will call on new Minister for Social Housing, Brad Hazzard, to meet with Millers Point residents and place their health ahead of the Government’s asset sales.

 Recent comments by the new Minister indicate that he is willing to consider the human impact of this sale. I remain hopeful that the Minister will recognise the strong case presented by the residents and find a way to compromise on the remaining homes.

Around half of the residents have been moved out in the last year. The psychological strain placed on these vulnerable residents, both those who have already moved and those who are fighting to remain in place, has been immeasurable. It is vital that we seize the opportunity to establish a working relationship with the new Minister.

Aside from this my notice of motion also calls on the Minister to make public the Government’s detailed plan for how the money from the property sale will be spent. To date $27 million has been raised.

Last week it was announced that some of the money has been used to finance new public housing units in Lurnea. Moving inner city public housing tenants to the fringes of the metropolitan area isn’t the answer.

While I support the creation of new public housing stock the Government needs to create more right across Sydney, especially in inner-city areas where there is better public transport, health services and employment access. The Macquarie Fields riots of 2005 sent a strong message that moving large public housing estates on the suburban fringes is poor social policy. Ten years on the Government needs to understand that location and design play a strong element in the social outcomes of public housing estates.

Sydney is a city of strong socio-economic divides. If we are going to meet the challenges of the future it is critical that place diversity at the front and centre of all our communities.

You can read my notice of motion here.

RESOURCED: https://clrdoutney.wordpress.com/2015/04/24/calling-on-minister-hazzard-to-open-the-door-to-millers-point-residents/ 

Grant to Redfern Legal Centre for Millers Point Residents

Posted on April 24, 2015 | Leave a comment      

      

When former Family and Community Services Minister Pru Goward announced the sale of public housing properties in Millers Point in March last year, she began the process of destroying the Millers

Point Public Housing Community. In the past 12 months half of the public housing residents have been moved to other properties. For many of these residents it has meant leaving their friends and community behind and often finding themselves socially isolated.

Last April the City gave the Redfern Legal Centre, who are specialists in public housing related issues, a grant of $100 000 to provide advocacy and advice to the affected tenants. During this time 130 tenants have received support from the Centre. They are now seeking an additional $50 000 funding for another six months.

Of the remaining residents a large number are elderly and have disabilities and complex needs. There will be considerable pressure on these vulnerable residents to leave within the next year to fit in with the Government’s sale deadline. This support is critical when you consider the issues some tenants face including finding appropriate properties to meet their mobility needs in terms of physical access and transport, psychological impacts and social isolation, as well as domestic support needs. Some of these residents may also be finding that they no longer meet the Department of Family and Community Services’ criteria for public housing.

I will continue to support these residents in their fight to stay in their homes. It is critically important that these residents receive this independent support. I want to thank the staff at Redfern Legal Centre for their ongoing work and dedication to these residents. Given the scope and complexity of this work I believe this grant is not only appropriate but also excellent value for money in terms of the services it provides

For those of you wishing to support the residents you can sign the following petitions:
Save Myra from eviction
Save Flo from eviction
Save Mrs Vo from eviction
Save the Millers Point Workers Flats

RESOURCED: https://clrdoutney.wordpress.com/2015/04/24/grant-to-redfern-legal-centre-for-millers-point-residents/ 

A dozen Millers Point homes to hit the market as State Government’s public housing sell-off continues

This property at 39 Kent St, Millers Point, is expected to fetch more than $1.6 million. Source: Supplied

A FURTHER 12 properties will soon be sold as a part of Government Property NSW’s Millers Point sell off, with the first three of the lot currently on the market. 

        

A three-bedroom terrace at 39 Kent St is expected to sell for more than $1.6 million at auction, in line with the prices fetched for some of the previously sold properties.


A four-bedroom terrace at 51 Kent St and a five-bedroom terrace at no. 49 are also currently on the market and are expected to fetch well above $1.6 million.



McGrath agent Peter Starr is selling two former public housing properties in Millers Point. Source: Supplied

McGrath Edgecliff’s Peter Starr, who is listed as a selling agent on two of the three properties, said the homes had received a good number of inquiries since being listed on April 13.

He said buyers were attracted to the style and location of the homes and wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to buy the heritage properties, despite some of them being in a dilapidated state.


“No. 39 would probably require a bit more work than the other two, the other two are definitely
livable,” Mr Starr said.


He said the heritage conservation guidelines that came with the properties had not deterred buyers.



The home at 39 Kent St, Millers Point requires a bit of work. Source: Supplied

   

Late last year, City of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore proposed a plan to change the guidelines and prevent buyers from extending the homes in any way.


As a result, the NSW Heritage Council has asked for the area’s planning controls to be reviewed.


NATIONAL TRUST: MILLERS POINT SALES WILL DEVASTATE AREA’S HERITAGE


RESIDENTS RALLY TO SAVE HOMES


“The City’s view is that the existing height and floor space of a property within the Millers Point Heritage Conservation Area should be used as the new planning control. Minor changes to properties may be considered if the changes don’t jeopardise their heritage value,” Ms Moore said.


“These new planning controls will help protect these buildings as they move into private ownership. The proposal has the strong support of the Central Sydney Planning Committee — a joint City of Sydney and NSW Government planning body.”

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore has proposed a plan preventing buyers from adding floor space to the existing properties. Source: News Corp Australia

Currently approval must be sought from the NSW Heritage Council if the new owners of the heritage homes wish to make any changes that affect the physical fabric of the place, including the buildings themselves.

A spokesman from the department of Family and Community Services said if a property is listed as a heritage item at both the State and local level, approval for any change to the property is required from the City of Sydney Council and Heritage Council of NSW.


“These properties are listed on the State Heritage Register, and under Section 118 — Minimum standards of maintenance and repair, requires that the owner must ensure the ongoing protection, weatherproofing, security and ongoing maintenance of the property,” the spokesperson said.



For sale: 49 Kent St, Millers Point. Source: Supplied

    

For sale: 51 Kent St, Millers Point. Source: Supplied

    To date, Government Property NSW has sold 12 out of the 293 propertiesthat were used as government housing, making just under $26.8 million.

The terraces along Kent St, Argyle Place, Windmill St and Lower Fort St have sold for between $1.624 million and $3.95 million.


Minister for Family and Community Services, Brad Hazzard, recently announced that the money made from the sales so far has been put into building 10 new two-bedroom seniors living dwellings in Lurnea in Sydney’s south west. The apartments are nearing completion with 99 new properties also underway in another 11 suburbs.


The three Kent St properties will go under the hammer on Thursday, May 14 at 6pm.

39 Kent St, Millers Point

MILLERS POINT FOR SALE: RESULTS SO FAR


26/08/2014: 29 Lower Fort St - $2.56m
21/08/2014: 119 Kent St - $1.911m
25/09/2014: 86 Windmill St - $2.27m
11/09/2014: 11 Lower Fort St - $3.95m
11/09/2014: 23 Lower Fort St - $2.685m
8/10/2014: 30 Argyle Place - $1.71m
5/12/2014: 24 Argyle Place - $2.35m
5/12/2014: 28 Argyle Place - $2.302m
5/12/2014: 32 Argyle Place - $2.15m
17/03/2015: 41 Kent St - $1.624m
16/03/2015: 43 Kent St - $1.625m
5/03/2015: 47 Kent St - $1.64m


LET US KNOW: DO YOU AGREE WITH HOW THE SALES PROCEEDS ARE BEING SPENT?

FACS banks Millers Point sales

The first homes built from the proceeds of Millers Point public housing have been unveiled by the Minister for Family and Community Services, Brad Hazzard.

 

The Minister said a separate bank account had been established for the Millers Point proceeds and the account of sales and capital outlays on new dwellings will be reported in the Family and Community Services (FACS) annual report.

"The projected proceeds from the Millers Point property sales, expected to be about $500 million - will be re-invested into some 1,500 new social housing dwellings, allowing more people on the waiting list to be housed faster," Mr Hazzard said.

First homes built from proceeds

"Developments will occur in areas of identified need for more social housing." The initial phase will focus on Sydney's south-east and south-west and the Illawarra-Shoalhaven area and Nepean-Blue Mountains areas.

Speaking during a site visit to Lurnea where 10 new two-bedroom dwellings for seniors are nearing completion, Mr Hazzard said the sales proceeds and savings in maintenance were vital to the supply of new and additional housing.

"Here at Lurnea and in another 11 suburbs, construction is under way on 99 new dwellings which include easily-maintainable one and two-bedroom units designed for singles and the elderly and three-bedroom homes for families," he said.

Mr Hazzard said 12 Millers Point properties had been sold, generating $26.8 million and a further three properties were now on the market.

"The Government will sell 293 properties in Millers Point to help finance a more sustainable public housing system," he said.

The Minister said new housing funded by the proceeds was under way in Condell Park, Padstow, Warilla, Mount Warrigal, Chester Hill, Yagoona, Gymea, Kingswood, Casula, Beverly Hills and Miranda.

#‎savemillerspoint‬ 

RESOURCED: http://www.psnews.com.au/nsw/Page_NSWpsn4096.html 

Millers Point state government terrace sell-off resumes post-election

Jonathan Chancellor | 21 April 2015

Three more surplus government-owned property at Millers Point have been listed.

#‎savemillerspoint‬


They are all on Kent Street including 51 Kent Street (pictured above), which is an 1855 terrace.

The Georgian-style terrace is listed for 14 May auction through Peter Starr at McGrath Estate Agents.
The terraces at 39 and 49 Kent Street are also for sale. The 39 Kent Street was built for solicitor/politician Sir George Wigram Allen

The 47 Kent Street was auctioned last year at $1.64 million.

Properties sold late last year included 24, 28 and 32 Argyle Place fetching $2.3 million, $2.35 million and $2.15 million respectively.

The NSW government is proceeding with plans to sell the remaining 284 properties so funds can be reinvested back into the public housing system.

The government-owned properties in Millers Point secured a total of $21.9 million from the initial nine sales.
















RESOURCED: http://www.propertyobserver.com.au/finding/location/nsw/42063-millers-point-state-government-terrace-sell-off-resumes-post-election.html 

Millers Point homestead to fetch $4 million

Grimes Cottage at 50 Argyle Place is a Colonial Georgian freestanding home with six bedrooms, north-facing gardens, a self-contained studio flat and views of the Harbour Bridge and The Rocks from a sprawling verandah at the rear. 

Located less than 10 minutes walk to the CBD and set across 416 square metres, the 1830s home is regarded as a jewel within a portfolio of social housing in the area now being offloaded for private ownership.

The controversial sales campaign, which is expected to generate more than $500 million for new housing projects outside the city, has been criticised as a backflip on goals of social integration and for uprooting elderly residents and families who have been in the area for decades.

Despite a fiercely fought campaign by residents and high profile supporters including Lord Mayor Clover Moore, activist Jack Mundey and artist Dare Jennings, the sell-off has progressed and raised more than $27 million to date from the sale of 12 homes - averaging $2.2 million each.  

Grimes Cottage is one in a slab of four terraces that are the latest to come to market this month, and one of just two freestanding homes within the Government's Millers Point portfolio.

McGrath agent Richard Shalhoub holds the listing. 

"It offers scope to restore a charming cottage into a substantial six bedroom family home in a historic Harbour front precinct," the agent said.

in early April that some of the proceeds from Millers Point sales will go to building 10 public housing units at Lurnea, in Sydney's south-west.

Units in the $2.8 million complex are among about 1500 new public housing dwellings built from the proceeds of the controversial sale, which is expected to reap upwards of $500 million.

According to the Government, every Millers Point property sold can fund the construction of five properties elsewhere.

 

RESOURCED: RESOURCED: http://www.afr.com/real-estate/millers-point-homestead-to-fetch-4-million-20150421-1mp8eh

 

Millers Point residents continue to fight evictions as NSW Government argues sell-off will fund 'five-for-one' housing deal

By Thuy Ong  Posted Thu at 9:58pmThu 16 Apr 2015    

Some Millers Point residents have draped banners over their balconies protesting the Government's local housing sell-off.

       

Related Story: National Trust slams Millers Point public housing sell-off

Five new homes will be funded through the sale of each house sold at Sydney's Millers Point, the New South Wales Government says.

 

The Government has unveiled the first batch of housing built with the proceeds of the contentious sell-off, and also promised houses would be built in Sydney's south-east and south-west, the Illawarra region and the Blue Mountains.

The predominately elderly community at harbourside Millers Point has been fighting eviction from their homes, and some say they know of several residents who have taken their own lives.

However, the Government argues the lucrative properties must be sold to address the state's housing shortage.

According to the Social Development Council, there are more than 56,000 people on the NSW public housing waiting list.

Waiting times for houses depend on the location, but most inner city houses have at least a 10-year wait, government statistics show.



Millers Point resident Barney Gardner, 65, said he would fight his eviction in court

 

"Families, couples, singles who have been waiting for accommodation will now have a greater chance of getting accommodation in our social housing system," Family and Community Services Minister Brad Hazzard said.

The sale of 293 houses at Millers Point - some more than a century old - is expected to generate $500 million.

Twelve properties sold to date have raised $26.8 million.

One Argyle Street house is expected to fund 13 social housing properties. The home was built in the early 1830s by whaling captain George Grimes and boasts views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Local residents fighting the sell-off plan have draped protest banners over balconies on the street.

"My great concern is for the elderly people here," said 65-year-old Barney Gardner, who has lived at Millers Point all his life.

"They say we're getting special consideration, by picking the suburb we want to [live in], but there might not be a dwelling in the suburb we want to go.

"They'll have to evict me and I'll go through the court system.

"You can take a person out of their home but you cannot replace their health and safety."

Mr Hazzard today unveiled 10 new units funded by sales at Millers Point.

A unit complex at Lurnea in Sydney's west is worth $2.8 million.

He said the properties represented a better use of taxpayers' money than the Millers Points houses, many of which required costly ongoing maintenance due to their age.

"The balancing act here is trying to make sure we free up what is a vast amount of taxpayer's dollars potentially to address all the other folks who are waiting for social housing," he said.

He said he would try to ensure Millers Point residents did not have to move too far from their existing community.

"It is a tough ask in moving from places you've been for a long while and I'm certainly asking and instructing and engaging the department to do it in a sensitive way," he said.


RESOURCED: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-16/nsw-government-says-millers-point-to-fund-housing-deal/6398552 

Sydney Harbour Control Tower headed for demolition

by: GREG BROWN  From: The Australian       

• April 16, 2015 12:00AM
• Greg Brown

Property Reporter

Sydney

 

The NSW government has decided to demolish the controversial Sydney Harbour Control Tower. Source: News Limited

         

The NSW government has decided to demolish the controversial Sydney Harbour Control Tower at the Barangaroo-end of the Sydney CBD, sources say. The decision may force Millers Point public housing residents to move out earlier than expected. 
        

The government wanted to wait until after the state election to make an announcement, with the likelihood that the residents would have to leave because of safety concerns, sources said.

The state government is selling about 300 public houses near the tower, with residents initially expected to move out by the first half of 2016.

The government was coy when contacted yesterday.

“An application to demolish the Sydney Harbour Control Tower as part of the Barangaroo Headland Park project is being assessed by the department, but no decision has been made,” a spokesman said.

The NSW government-controlled Barangaroo Delivery Authority submitted a planning application in April last year to demolish the tower, which was built in 1974 to monitor ships on Sydney Harbour.

The tower has not been used since 2011 and has been criticised as an unattractive part of the skyline.

But it also has admirers and its demolition will draw intense criticisms from the National Trust, which has lobbied to have the tower placed on the heritage register. Its demolition may coincide with the construction of Barangaroo Point park.

Residents and unions unite against public housing sell-off

By Darrin Barnett  Tuesday, 24 March 2015

MILLERS Point – a tiny pocket of land with million dollar views of Sydney Harbour – has long been a home to working men and women and has strong connections to maritime unions.

The NSW Government last year announced its intention to sell-off 293 public housing properties in a two-year timeframe, in what is reputed to be the longest inhabited suburb since European settlement.
To mark one year since the Baird Government announced the sale of public housing at Millers Point, Dawes Point and the Rocks on 19 March, residents and supporters met at NSW Parliament House for a preview screening of a documentary telling their story.

Generations of members of the Waterside Workers’ Federation and Seamen’s Union of Australia and their families and descendents have called the area home.

The Rocks area was famously saved by the Green Bans of the 1970s, led by Jack Mundey from the Builders’ Labourers Federation, who features in the documentary, Forced Out.

No reply from the Premier

After paying his respects to traditional owners, resident Barney Gardner read to the audience from a letter sent to Premier Mike Baird. He has not yet received a reply, nor did the Premier or anyone from his Government attend the event.

Gardner, a former Painter & Docker, has been living in Millers Point for 65 years, long before the public housing was transferred to Housing NSW from the Maritime Services Board in the 1980s.

“One suspects Premier Baird that you and your [Community Services] Minister Gabrielle Upton will not talk to us because you are both afraid to look into the tear-filled eyes of the elderly, the pain on the faces of the disabled and the despair in the hearts of our most vulnerable,” he said.

“The feeling is that you and your government have abandoned us, making us feel sub-human, past our use-by-date, if you must, with little conscience as to how you are mistreating us. Shame!
“Your government and previous governments have placed many disadvantaged and vulnerable people within our community whom we have welcomed, nurtured and protected because you will not.

“You seem to have forgotten the multitude of public and social housing tenants who have been law-abiding citizens and have served this community, this city, this state and this country so well for many years.”

‘An act of social cleansing’

The documentary was followed by a question and answer panel with academics, activists and experts discussing the plans for Millers Point, Dawes Point and Sirius building at The Rocks.

Maritime Union of Australia NSW Branch Secretary Paul McAleer said the sell-off was an act of social cleansing by trying to exclude those who aren’t well-off from the city and its surrounds.
“This is social and political Darwinism – survival of the wealthiest,” he said. “Houses have no value but homes are priceless.

“Long live Millers Point, Dawes Point and The Rocks as a community not as a rich enclave of thieves.”

The film features Graham Quint (director of advocacy, The National Trust), Tanya Plibersek (Federal Member for Sydney), Jack Mundey (unionist and environmentalist), Paul Vevers (executive director of housing services, Department of Family and Community Services), Gabrielle Upton (NSW Minister for Family and Community Services), Professor Peter Phibbs (Professor of Urban Planning, University of Sydney), Bob Flood (lifetime resident and retired wharf worker), Barney Gardner (lifetime resident and retired wharf worker).


WATCH: a preview of Forced Out
 

RESOURCED: http://workinglife.org.au/2015/03/24/residents-and-unions-unite-against-millers-point-sell-off/ 

Plans by the NSW Liberal government to sell off prime real estate on the current site of the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney’s CBD have aroused widespread anger.

NSW premier Mike Baird has pledged $10 million to relocate the museum to Parramatta, despite the fact that no new site for the museum has been set aside. The sale is expected to generate $200 million for the government.

Developers are salivating: John Zheng from LJ Hooker told Fairfax that “the highest and best value for it will be apartment blocks”.

It’s the latest in a spate of public land sell-offs in the Sydney CBD and surrounding areas, including the 22 hectares of public land given to developers of Barangaroo and the dozens of occupied public houses being sold off at Millers Point.

The independent state member for Sydney, Alex Greenwich, said: “From Millers Point housing to sandstone heritage government office buildings, one by one the government is relocating inner city functions and services and selling assets for redevelopment without needed open space and community facilities.”

Labor candidate for Balmain Verity Firth said the Liberal government’s announcement that it will sell the site in Ultimo and move the Powerhouse Museum to Sydney’s west just added to the list of valuable assets being sold off.

“Mike Baird is blackmailing the people of western Sydney: if you want arts and culture in western Sydney, you need to vote for my privatisation agenda.”

Community groups say the plans are part of an out-of-control privatisation agenda being pursued across the state. The convener of Pyrmont Action, Elizabeth Elenius, told AltMedia: “To sell the site for private development would be a betrayal of the public interest and, once again, demonstrates that the government treats our heritage and community with disdain when the mighty developer dollar beckons.”

RESOURCED:http://redflag.org.au/article/sell-offs-continue-sydney-cbd

NSW Election: The fiercely independent electorate of Sydney

702 ABC Sydney By John Donegan

The electorate of Sydney covers some of New South Wales' most affluent voters in Potts Point and Elizabeth Bay on the city's eastern edge, and some of the most disadvantaged voters in Millers Point on the city's western edge.

 

This mix of demographic extremes has delivered independent members since it was re-introduced in 2007.

Formerly the seat of Bligh, it was won from the Liberal Party by Clover Moore in 1988 and has been held by an independent ever since.

Cr Moore, the Lord Mayor of Sydney, was forced to vacate the seat in 2012 after legislative change made it impossible for anyone to be an elected member of local council and state government at the same time.

The seat was won at the subsequent by-election by independent Alex Greenwich, who was endorsed by Cr Moore, with a two-party preferred vote of 63.7 percent.

Sydney as an electorate has a member representing the residents, but is designed to cater for the millions of workers and tourists who flock into the state capital every day.

More singles call Sydney home

Sydney is a young electorate, with the median age six years below the state average and, with 61 percent of the population never married, the single status is double the state average.

With nearly 60 per cent of the population listing both parents as being born overseas, the city is a beacon to new Australians, earning on average 65 percent more than the state average income.
Despite the picture of youthful affluence painted by the statistics, an enclave of older, marginalised Australians live in Millers Point alongside the contentious Barangaroo Project.

The sale of public housing in Millers Point, and the forced removal of tenants will be a flash point in Saturday's election, with public housing supporters mobilising against the Government.

Redistribution resulting from more new apartment dwellers in Sydney has seen the seat shrink in area since the 2011 election.

The seat loses Ultimo to Balmain, Centennial Park to Heffron as well as Chippendale and parts of Surry Hills to the new seat of Newtown, creating a marginal seat with a notional 0.3 percent margin to the sitting independent.

Challenging Mr Greenwich at this election will be Edwina Lloyd (Labor), Victor Taffa (Independent), David Pelzman (No Land Tax), Patrice Pandeleos (Liberal), Elaine Addae (CDP - Fred Nile Group), Chris Brentin (The Greens), and Joanna Rzetelski (undeclared).

Topics: elections, sydney-2000

REOURCED: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-24/inside-the-fiercely-independent-electorate-of-sydney/6342994 

Millers Point: one year on

 

Dear Barney,

It was encouraging to see many of you at yesterday’s event in Parliament House, Millers Point: Community or Commodity which marked one year since the government announced the cruel mass sell-off and relocation of the Millers Point, Dawes Point and The Rocks community. My thanks to filmmaker Blue Lucine for organising the event and to everyone who continues to fight to keep your homes and community, and ensure we keep social housing in the inner city and protect your heritage significant area.

 A preview of Blue’s documentary screed at yesterday’s event can be viewed HERE. Blue will continue to document the plight of the Millers Point community and can be contacted at contact.forcedout@gmail.com.

As you know, one year  on and there is still no clear information on how proceeds of sales will be spent, with less than 10 properties sold. Over 200 homes sit vacant, while 60,000 people wait for a home and many local residents suffer serious physical and mental health issues. This undermines the government's claims that the sales will result in more social housing – so far there are fewer homes and no tracking of where funds are going.
I continue to appeal to the Government to at the very least allow the elderly residents of the area to age in place and not be forcibly evicted.
You can read my article in yesterday’s Sydney Morning Herald HERE.

The Millers Point community has so far survived developers greed, 16 years of eviction by neglect from the former labor government and social cleansing under the Liberal Government.  I will continue to fight alongside you to retain and maintain social housing in Millers Point.

Let's keep fighting!
Alex

Alex Greenwich MP
http://www.alexgreenwich.com/ 

 

 

Residents and Unions Unite Against Millers Point Sell-Off

Posted by Ashleigh Telford on March 20, 2015

 

To mark one year since the NSW Government announced the sale of public housing at Millers Point, Dawes Point and the Rocks, residents and supporters met at NSW Parliament House for a preview screening of a documentary telling their story.

The NSW Government last year announced its intention to sell-off 293 properties in a two-year timeframe, in what is reputed to be the longest inhabited suburb since European settlement.

The area has long been a home for working men and women – in particular Waterside Workers’ Federation (WWF) and Seamen’s Union of Australia (SUA) members and their descendants.

The Rocks area was famously saved by the Green Bans of the 1970s, led by Jack Mundey from the Builders’ Labourers Federation (BLF), who features in the documentary.

Former Painter & Docker Barney Gardner

After paying his respects to traditional owners, resident Barney Gardner read from a letter sent to Premier Mike Baird.

Gardner, a former Painter & Docker, has been living in Millers Point for 65 years, long before the public housing was transferred to Housing NSW from the Maritime Services Board in the 1980s.

“One suspects Premier Baird that you and your minister Gabrielle Upton will not talk to us because you are both afraid to look into the tear-filled eyes of the elderly, the pain on the faces of the disabled and the despair in the hearts of our most vulnerable,” he said.

“The feeling is that you and your Government have abandoned us, making us feel sub-human, past our use-by-date, if you must, with little conscience as to how you are mistreating us. Shame!

“Your Government and previous Governments have placed many disadvantaged and vulnerable people within our community whom we have welcomed, nurtured and protected because you will not.

“You seem to have forgotten the multitude of public and social housing tenants who have been law-abiding citizens and have served this community, this city, this state and this country so well for many years.”

The documentary was followed by a question and answer panel with academics, activists and experts discussing the plans for Millers Point, Dawes Point and Sirius building at The Rocks.Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) NSW Branch Secretary Paul McAleer said the sell-off was an act of social cleansing by trying to exclude those who aren’t well-off from the city and its surrounds.



“This is social and political Darwinism – survival of the wealthiest,” he said.

“Houses have no value but homes are priceless.

“Long live Millers Point, Dawes Point and The Rocks as a community not as a rich enclave of thieves.”

The film features Graham Quint (director of advocacy, The National Trust), Tanya Plibersek (Federal Member for Sydney), Jack Mundey (unionist and environmentalist), Paul Vevers (executive director of housing services, Department of Family and Community Services), Gabrielle Upton (NSW Minister for Family and Community Services), Professor Peter Phibbs (Professor of Urban Planning, University of Sydney), Bob Flood (lifetime resident and retired wharf worker), Barney Gardner (lifetime resident and retired wharf worker).

Watch the documentary here: http://savemillerspoint.blogspot.com.au/2015/03/preview-forced-out-documentary.html
 

- See more at: http://www.mua.org.au/residents_and_unions_unite_against_millers_point_sell_off_home#sthash.mti81jrZ.dpuf

RESOURCED: http://www.mua.org.au/residents_and_unions_unite_against_millers_point_sell_off_home

Preview- Forced Out- The Documentary

Published on Mar 18, 2015

This is a preview section of the feature documentary,
FORCED OUT.

This section focusses on the economic, political and heritage parts of the story.

The sale of public housing in Australia is a contentious issue with many implications – social, economic and psychological. It is happening in Sydney, Wollongong, and spreading right across Australia. This documentary gives voice to the people caught in the crossfire.

On March 19th, 2014, the face of Sydney changed forever. On the Cahill expressway, Minister for Housing, Pru Goward, announced the biggest sale of public housing in Australia’s history, a decision that would see almost 500 vulnerable and elderly residents evicted from their homes. Behind her lay Millers Point, Dawes Point and the iconic Sirius building, all in the firing line. The Barangaroo development site loomed in the background, a silent player in this political game of money, greed and power.

One year later half the residents have already been re-located to Department housing all over Sydney and beyond. The remainder will be forced out over the next few months but a core is hanging on refusing to leave. The evictions have affected people in different ways. Some have grabbed the chance to leave with enthusiasm, but for most residents it has been upsetting, disorienting and even life threatening. Their worlds have simply been turned upside down.

RESOURCED: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsKkBId2_gQ&feature=youtu.be

 

Suitable, affordable housing is key to our population ageing well

March 19, 2015 10.49am AEDT

Eileen Webb and Gill North

Authors

1. Eileen Webb
   Professor, Faculty of Law at University of Western Australia
2. Gill North
   Associate Professor of Law at Monash University

Housing security matters for older Australians like the residents of Millers Point, Sydney, who fear having to make way for development. AAP/Hugh Peterswald    

Whatever one’s opinion on the Intergenerational Report (IGR), it is undeniable that Australia faces challenging economic and personal realities over the next 40 years. Treasurer Joe Hockey has emphasised the IGR highlights the need for Australia to respond to demographic changes. Proposed responses include extending the average working life and increasing participation by Australian seniors.
On April 14, the Senate Economics References Committee is due to deliver its report on affordable housing. This report is expected to highlight shortfalls in affordable and age-appropriate housing.
These major demographic and housing issues are closely connected. The challenges they present must be tackled against a background of deteriorating economic conditions and an oversubscribed health system.
The issues the IGR raises are many and varied. They are also subject to a plethora of contingencies. However, one issue that cannot be denied is the inescapable impact – one way or another – of an ageing population on Australia’s economic future.
The danger is that the government seems to be emphasising (albeit crucial) issues such as employment and health without taking a broader view of factors, of which housing is pivotal, that will nourish and buttress these aspirations.

Housing is tied to health and productivity

If Australian seniors are to remain healthy and work longer, the importance of appropriate housing cannot be underestimated. Much attention is being paid to the rising cost of health care for an ageing population. However, the nexus between secure accommodation and better health and financial outcomes for older people, the broader community and the economy is largely overlooked.
If older Australians are more secure in their accommodation, they are more likely to remain employed and in good physical and psychological health. All of the consequential benefits of this flow to the economy and the nation as a whole. Therefore, improved provision of affordable senior housing is vital to enable people to remain employed into their 60s, 70s and even 80s, and thereby lift Australia’s productivity and sustain economic growth.
To pursue these goals in the IGR, the government’s attention must extend to ensuring an adequate supply of affordable and suitable housing for seniors. The population of older Australians is naturally diverse, so individual housing preferences vary significantly.
The major asset of most Australian households is the family home. For seniors, housing equity makes up approximately half of their wealth. However, research to date suggests few of these households are drawing on this wealth during retirement.

Insecurity has multiple harmful impacts

For older people who do not own a home and must find affordable accommodation in a competitive market, life can be particularly daunting. As social policy researcher Bruce Bradbury has noted:

Australia is unusual in that economic exclusion among the elderly is closely linked to a lack of home ownership (or access to public housing).

Seniors have different housing requirements to younger people and families. Older Australians often require smaller and more accessible housing located close to services, care and support.
Transitions in later life are complex. These transitions, it has been observed:

… challenge older adults to make projections of a future self and to anticipate their emotional, medical and financial needs.

Housing with good access to shops and services becomes even more important to Australians as they age. AAP/Melanie Foster

Older people who are secure in the knowledge that they can stay in their accommodation for an extended period – or permanently – exhibit demonstrably better physical and psychological health than those in less stable accommodation. Insecurity in one’s home environment heightens the risks to physical and psychological health in the short and longer term, including feelings of powerlessness.
Insecure accommodation may also impact on older people’s social situations. They may become reluctant to engage in their local communities. If they have to relocate, they may lose support and friendship networks.
The prospect of possibly having to move weighs heavily on older people. This is especially so where options for accommodation elsewhere are limited.
Finally, significant economic costs are attached to the heightened risk of physical or psychological illnesses.
Beyond the headlines, a concerted strategy for an older – but healthier and more productive – population must be crafted. A focus on secure, affordable housing for seniors is a cornerstone for any such aspirations.

RESOURCED: https://theconversation.com/suitable-affordable-housing-is-key-to-our-population-ageing-well-38644

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Powerhouse Museum needs a revamp, not a knock-down

March 19, 2015 - 10:15AM  Elizabeth Farrelly

Illustration: Rocco Fazzari

  Selling assets for income is like losing your virginity; you can only do it once, so you really, really want to pick your moment. All parents, I imagine, tell all children this. So why hasn't anyone told the government?

It's four years since Barry O'Farrell pranced into power plumed with sunlit promises of planning reform. For the first time in NSW's 223 years, city-making had become an election issue - as though we'd finally got that abuses of power crystallise into permanent snafus in the city fabric.

Cultural institutions are a city's eye teeth, giving shape and personality.  

O'Farrell tapped this new NSW awareness. He promised to make developer donations illegal, rewrite the planning act, close legal loopholes like the infamous Part 3A and end the conflicts of interest built into government planning processes.

None of it eventuated. Developer donations were simply channelled underground through special party-constructed sewers. Part 3A was replaced by countless other apertures for ministerial "discretion". The new planning act was asphyxiated by the community distrust that this catalogue of cave-ins only accentuated. And the conflicts of interest became, if anything, more entrenched.

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And the snafus? I give you James Packer's towering casino on public land, fast-tracked to heaven. Darling Harbour, also on prime public land but shaped to rock-bottom commercial motives. The Boxing Day truncation of Newcastle's main rail line for development purposes, and its never-never replacement by a tram that (according to a leaked Cabinet minute, December 9, 2013) undermines the public interest in both cost and amenity.

There's more. Mining and CSG licences across much of the state's food-production land. The fire-sale of Millers Point public housing and of our glorious Bridge Street sandstones. The flogging of poles and wires. And the sale of the Powerhouse Museum site for yet more rubbish apartments.
Only the Jenolan Caves sale may not materialise although, well, wait and see.

This mentality, so characteristic of government now, is not just morally but economically vapid. You keep it, there's an income stream, a culture source, a way of growing food. Sell and it's gone. As Marie Bashir said recently, we must fight "the sale and destruction of our farmland for mining."
Yet whenever I point to this deliberate destruction of our assets and institutions I'm accused of playing politics. "Another stupid leftie," was a typical tweet by one David Armstrong (@truth9876) after I critiqued Abbott's attack on the Human Rights Commission. "Pointless arguing with stupid lefties, curse of Australia."

Armstrong's coinage was manifestly tautological. For him, as for most of the winged-monkey troll-squadron, "stupid" and "leftie" are synonyms. Yet I query them. "Stupid", perhaps, depending on circumstance. But leftie? What part of protecting your assets equals "leftie"?

Interestingly, one of the few who understands that conservation is, well, conservative is Fred Nile. On coal seam gas, and on the rail-line truncation, Nile and I are as one. He wants a five-year CSG moratorium, to cover existing operations as well as new licenses until it is proven safe for both water and food production.

On the Newcastle rail line fiasco, the select committee, chaired by Nile, on The Planning Process in Newcastle and the Broader Hunter Region, recommended earlier this month "that the NSW government immediately reinstate rail services that have ceased and infrastructure that has been removed from the Newcastle heavy rail line."

The Nile report also underlined the many and deep-seated conflicts of interest inherent in NSW urban planning regimes, in the context of which gaping ministerial discretion and rampant asset sales are especially sinister. The forest of secret conflicts means you never quite know where the government is coming from. It's that trust thing.

"There is," Nile wrote in his foreword, "an irreconcilable conflict of interest in the relationship between UrbanGrowth NSW and the Department of Planning and Environment whereby the NSW government is both the landowner, via UrbanGrowth, and the planning consent authority, via the department. This conflict is unacceptable…"

This same conflict deforms and contorts the proposal to "relocate" the Powerhouse Museum to Parramatta, allowing redevelopment of its Ultimo site, which UrbanGrowth is even now eyeing up for sale.

Certainly, Parramatta should have a major art institution. No question. But the Powerhouse has a massive, never-seen collection, easily enough for three or four museums.  But it is impossible to feel that the decision is being made with the city's best interest in mind.

The Ultimo site is expected to fetch $150-$250 million, depending on planning constraints. These constraints should properly be set by the city council, but they won't be, because the state is exempt.  Effectively, it sets its own limits.

This means that here, as on the UrbanGrowth-GPT site in Newcastle, as on Barangaroo, there is direct incentive for the government to maximise heights and minimise heritage protections. A direct incentive to betray the public interest.

It's no accident that this proposal coincides with the emergence of the city's southern end as its new energy centre. For six decades, as skyscrapers dragged the energy north, the area around Central stagnated. But fallow years are seldom wasted. Here, they nurtured a genuine arts and sciences precinct, with UTS, TAFE, the ABC and the Powerhouse all in a heap.

Now - reinforced by Central Park's miraculous new porosity, UTS' massive campus investment (including the Gehry) and the Goods Line walkway - that hub has started to pull back. City-south is booming.

The government has already reaped massively from this shift. The $2 billion Darling Harbour redevelopment is funded by four student-housing towers at its southern end and a twin-tower hotel to the west – all on public land.

But cities are cumulative. That's why great cities are old cities. Sure, the Powerhouse needs a revamp. But it has a new management team (under a year old) and a huge opportunity to about-face, physically, opening to Darling Harbour. It's a time for burnishing and refinement, not a knock-down.
Cultural institutions are a city's eye teeth, giving shape and personality. Sydney doesn't have so many creative precincts that it can afford to play fast and loose. The cherry, once lost, is lost forever.

Resourced: http://www.smh.com.au/comment/powerhouse-museum-needs-a-revamp-not-a-knockdown-20150318-1m1tvi.html