Sell-out of the century

By Lawrence Bull

The State Government’s plan to sell 99-year leases to twenty public houses in Millers Point is probably only the tip of the iceberg, heard a meeting of concerned parties on Tuesday.

A contact in the Lands Department advised members of the Millers Point Estate Advisory Board in 2005 that the government was considering 100 properties for its lease sales program.

“Initially we had a very good resource that we were informed it was a hundred, hence we then approached the minister and we were told it would be 16 properties at that stage,” Board member Mara Barnes said.

The sale of those 16 property leases raised more than $18 million for the government’s ‘Inner West Strategy’ redevelopments.

NSW Housing Minister Frank Terenzini expects the current 20 to raise a further $20 million for public housing elsewhere.

In the recent state budget, the government allocated $4.9 million for upgrades to an unspecified number of Millers Point properties it plans to lease.

Leases to two properties, on Argyle and Lower Fort Streets, have already sold for a combined $3.17 million.

Two properties on Lower Fort and Windmill Steets will be auctioned at the end of August.

The government informed residents their homes were to be sold via letters recently slipped under their doors.

Many more residents fear their homes may be next.

Mr Terenzini says the sales will partially fund public housing redevelopment in Glebe.

“The Millers Point lease sales program has directly funded the development of more appropriate housing to meet the current and future needs of social housing tenants.

“The program has also reduced the maintenance liability to Housing NSW as these are heritage-listed properties that would otherwise have cost millions of dollars to upgrade to the standard required by the heritage authorities and also for their ongoing heritage cyclical maintenance program,” he said.

Rocks public housing resident John Taylor says properties to be sold have received repairs while other heritage public housing has been dangerously neglected.

“Our block is the only social housing in that street. No maintenance has been done on a number of those properties for 20 years – no paintjobs, no carpets, no floors replaced – basic stuff. And in those properties we have people with disabilities,” he said.

Tuesday’s meeting was attended by representatives from the Millers Point Estate Advisory Board, Tenant Participation Resource Service, City Council and local estates.

Ms Barnes said many people are unsympathetic because of media portraying all residents as welfare recipients.

“It’s been a working-class area and taxpaying area for many years,” she said.

“Living decedents of early residents are well represented in the current population and bring an authenticity and living culture of the first settlement.”

Member for Sydney Clover Moore also opposes the sale.

“The Commonwealth Government has put significant new money into low cost housing over the past two years, and there is no reason the NSW Government should cut back on its commitment to social housing,” Ms Moore said.

“Social housing in the inner city allows tenants in need to live close to health and welfare support services and good employment opportunities, helping them get back on their feet.”

Mr Terenzini says the State Government is ahead of schedule on the Federal Government’s social housing initiative.

“As of the end of the financial year, Housing NSW has delivered 877 new stimulus homes, with a further 5,270 under construction,” he said.

The Federal Government has allocated $1.9 billion to building about 6,000 social housing homes in NSW.