More than 300 people rallied on May 30 against Victorian Labor’s decision to demolish 44 public housing estates and demanded the Jacinta Allen government put in more public housing.
The protest was organised by Save Public Housing and endorsed by grassroots housing and community groups.
The protesters marched from the State Library to the Atherton Public Housing Estate in Fitzroy where there was a community BBQ. A range of speakers, including tenants from the threatened estates, spoke about the need for more public housing, especially in a housing crisis.
R-Coo Tran, from 44 Flats United, spoke about residents’ efforts to stop demolition. They said residents do not want to move.
Jackson Payne, from Stop the Demolitions, spoke about the need to try and organise workers within the housing sector against the sell-offs.
Djab Wurrung Gunnai Gunditjmara Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe condemned Labor for displacing people from their homes. She talked about her childhood growing up in public housing, saying it was a safe community and one which her single mother had confidence in. She also highlighted the need for public housing for First Nations communities.
Sue Bolton, the Socialist Alliance councillor in the City of Merri-bek and SA candidate for Broadmeadows, condemned Labor for privatising the towers and said a lot of public housing is also being quietly demolished in the suburbs.
Representatives from the Greens and Victorian Socialists also spoke.
