Duncan Roden, a member of Socialist Alliance, delivered this speech to a protest called by Better Futures Coalition and Action for Public Housing on December 14.
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I’m a resident of 50-52 Warren Road. I’ve lived in Marrickville for 6 years and in the Inner West for about 15 years. I’ve been at Warren Rd for about one and a half years.
It took me several months to find that place — a suitable, affordable apartment. The rents being demanded for low-quality shoeboxes are not just absurd, they are demeaning.
It says a lot about how our capitalist society views our human dignity and our basic right to shelter.
So I was shocked when, several months ago I came home from work and saw a development application posted on our front gate. I now face the prospect of going through the house hunt again, knowing this time the market would probably be even worse than before.
I’m not just concerned for myself.
I know at least one senior resident who has been there at least 10 years. He and another senior resident have lived in the IW their entire lives; their family, friends, support networks are all here. Would they be able to find another place in this area?
The people living in my apartment block are students, essential workers and young professionals. We all need somewhere affordable to live.
We had heard nothing from the landlord or real estate, there was never any consultation — we’re just rent payers.
Finally, after many weeks, we did receive an email from the real estate saying: “Please be assured that this is only an application at this stage, and there are no plans or intentions for eviction”.
I don’t know how they intend to build a brand new apartment complex on our block without evicting us first!
The block has 17 low-cost apartments. The proposed development will have 40 units, but only eight will be affordable, and all but one will revert to market rates after just 15 years.
We have just found out that the landlord is taking their development application to the Land and Environment Court. The court has previously refused an application based on its impact on affordable housing, so there’s some hope for us.
We can pressure the Inner West Council to make the case for protecting and expanding affordable housing.
The inner west is losing affordable housing and this is being allowed under the Labor government’s Transport Oriented Development plan.
The Inner West Council also passed a housing plan recently, called Fairer Future, that seeks to build more than 30,000 dwellings. However, only 2% will be affordable.
And there’s a whole rabbit hole we could dive into about just what “affordable” actually means.
Spoiler alert, it’s a weasel word designed to provide token cover for giving property developers and landlords more opportunities to make profits.
That is why, in one of the richest countries in the world, we are facing a housing crisis.
The major parties, Labor and the Coalition, prioritise profits over human needs. They continue putting their faith in a private market that keeps failing to deliver adequate housing.
We could build more housing in Sydney and do it in a way that respects the dignity of current tenants and helps them find new places in their communities.
We could build housing that is guaranteed to be affordable and sustainable.
But our government’s housing plans are not that because they lack a fundamental ingredient — genuine democracy.
Wealth has enormous influence on our government. A real democracy would allow ordinary people and our communities to have real input in decisions that affect our lives — and there aren’t many things that affect our lives more than shelter; it’s a basic human need.
Let’s remember that we’re not just campaigning to negotiate over some technical details or numbers. We’re campaigning for genuine democracy that puts people's needs above profits.
The fight for just housing is a political fight.
When people see parties like Labor, which claim to be the most “reasonable” and “practical”, fail to deliver time and again, then they inevitably seek alternatives.
Unfortunately growing numbers of people are choosing One Nation and the anti-immigrant movement.
Our housing movement must take a stand and point out that the problem is not immigrants or overpopulation; it is the profits-first model of our governments at all levels, federal, state and local council.
Blak Caucus issued a call for “March for Australia” on January 26 to be cancelled.
Gadigal Elder Aunty Rhonda Dixon-Grovenor said: “We have heard that the racist people will also be having a march against immigrants on this day. There’s no room for this racism.”
The progressive alternative to the failure of the major parties and the rise of the racist right is to fight for real participatory democracy.
We should call out their failures and point to the political forces such as Socialist Alliance, of which I’m a member, other socialists and the Greens, that are fighting for a real democracy that will respect the dignity of people.
