Public housing tenants from Waterloo and Glebe whose homes are being threatened by the New South Wales government’s inner-city privatisation plans told a rally on August 24 that more public housing, not less, was needed.
The protest was organised by Action for Public Housing and supported by Hands Off Glebe to highlight the government's proposed demolition of a Waterloo public housing estate.
Waterloo South estate resident Karyn Brown said: “We should build more public housing. Repair and maintain what we’ve got and build more.”
“They are building more and more unaffordable housing that will stand empty while people are homeless in Sydney.”
Brown said the 1 million homes sitting empty across Australia shows that the supply of private housing is not the problem.
President of Friends of Erskineville Andrew Chuter said the demolition “will not help anyone struggling to pay rent”.
“The reason why rents are so high is because we have such a high proportion of private housing in Australia,” he said. “We need to get rid of tax concessions and negative gearing, not demolish public housing.”
Protesters marched to Redfern Station with signs saying “No demolitions of public housing” and “No evictions of housing tenants”.
Residents signed petitions and postcards opposing the Waterloo demolition.
[Action for Public Housing and Hands Off Glebe are organising a BBQ and speak-out against the proposed demolition of public housing at Wentworth St, Glebe, on September 17.]