When
Where
Corner of Regent and Redfern St
Redfern NSW 2016
Australia
Why
The NSW Labor is promising to demolish the Waterloo South public housing estate blocks at the end of May.
More than 150 dwellings in the Cope Street and George Street Waterloo low-rise apartment blocks are to be destroyed: 130 of these are imminent and 20 in 12-15 months. Another 100 residents in Cope Street were given eviction notices in March. Many of these people are long-term residents of Waterloo.
This is being done in a housing crisis, which is getting worse.
NSW Labor promised residents in 2023, before being elected, that it would save Waterloo’s public homes. It also pledged not to sell off public assets.
We want Labor to revisit those promises and not hand over what is not yours to the private developer Stockland, which plans to build 1500 luxury apartments. Of those only 600 will be “affordable’ homes” — set at 80% of market rent — which means they will not be really affordable.
We are calling on Labor to back away from this brazen privatisation of public land.
At a time when more than 65,000 people are on the waiting list for public housing and some 300,000 homes sit empty every night across the state, there are plenty of other humane options than demolishing well-built public housing.
[i] Homes NSW told residents in a Waterloo Redevelopment Group meeting on April 15 that demolition will start in late May.
Organised by Action for Public Housing, Better Future Coalition others TBC.
Contact Rach 0403 517 266 for details