Charges against squatters dropped
SYDNEY — Twelve people arrested in July for occupying a disused Department of Housing house in the inner Sydney suburb of Chippendale, despite having been given verbal agreement to do so, had charges against them dropped on November 17.
The 12 are members of Direct Action Against Homelessness.
"David Waugh [Department of Housing] today refused to tell members of DAAH on what grounds the house still remains empty ... the Department of Housing prefers to keep its empty houses empty rather than establish tenancy agreements with homeless people", said a spokesperson from DAAH.
The group is demanding that empty houses owned by the department be made available for immediate occupancy.