One Glebe public housing site saved, another lost

By ROBBIE MASON.

Critics including public housing tenants, activists and a Macquarie University academic have slammed the Minns government for an inconsistent housing policy and poor communication with impacted public housing tenants.

The NSW government announced on 17 June that it will halt the previous government’s proposed redevelopment of the Franklyn Street Estate. The Minns administration has simultaneously committed to proceeding with the demolition of public housing at 82 Wentworth Park Road, Glebe, to make way for a greater number of units.

According to a spokesperson for Action for Public Housing, activists are “very grateful” that the redevelopment of the Franklyn Street Estate will not go ahead.

“That campaign has been long and hard fought. We are welcoming that decision.”

The Minister for Housing and Homelessness, Rose Jackson, stated: “the restoration of these properties in Glebe reflects our unwavering commitment to providing quality homes for vulnerable people right across Sydney, including in our inner city.”

But public housing advocates remain confused by the seeming double standard to advance with the demolition of the Wentworth Park Road building in the face of ongoing protest.

“There’s an inconsistency,” Action for Public Housing say. “What’s the difference between one public housing estate near Broadway and one slightly further away?”

Labor’s inconsistent housing policy

In a media release, the government cited “unnecessary stress for tenants” as a key reason for the intervention and stated that the project would not deliver substantial uplift in social and affordable housing.

However, as City Hub has demonstrated in its prior coverage of the issue, demolitions plans have caused significant anguish for the remaining tenants at 82 Wentworth Park Road. The occupation of the building by activists and residents has also resulted in tension and intense surveillance from police and security personnel.

Furthermore, activists and residents at Wentworth Park Road are proposing an alternative plan which is more cost-effective. It can also deliver the same number of public homes on the site. Refurbishment and the construction of extra homes in available space on the property such as the under-utilised car park appears to be the preference among supporters.

Communication is too slow and haphazard, critics say

The slow response of the Housing Minister to the unfolding situation and Labor’s inconsistent messaging has frustrated activists and tenants.

On Thursday 14 June, the Housing Minister pledged to not privatise the Wentworth Park Road site, telling City Hub she is “considering all options” and that “if any redevelopment does proceed, no resident will be evicted”. The statement also emphasised a “right of return” for displaced tenants.

The statement seemed to suggest the current building at 82 Wentworth Park Road will not be demolished. The Minns government has now contradicted this statement.

Carolyn Ienna, a thirty-year long Wiradjuri resident at 82 Wentworth Park Road, wrote to the Housing Minister on May 10 but only received a reply on 14 June, after supporters occupied the building in protest.

In a statement to City Hub today the Housing Minister conceded that “communication around decision making to tenants hasn’t been good enough.”

But she stated that is “committed to improving that” in a period of “massive transition”.

“As an incoming government we are working as quickly as we can to firm up the status of our public housing estates to provide residents with timely updates about their living arrangements. This is a big priority for me.”

Community disappointment over the impending demolition at Wentworth Park Road

Denis Doherty from Hands Off Glebe panned the government’s decision. “We are very disappointed that NSW Housing Minister Rose Jackson has chosen to continue with the previous LNP Government’s appalling plan for 82 Wentworth Park Road.”

Alastair Sisson, a housing expert and Macquarie University Research Fellow, expressed dismay the news that the NSW government will proceed with demolition at Wentworth Park Road.

“There’s all this talk in the press about needing to increase housing supply,” Sisson said, “but what few people seem to understand is that when you are demolishing public housing – or any housing – you’re reducing housing supply. You might make up for that in the future. But we’re in a housing crisis right now.”

“We really need to expand the footprint of the public housing system before we even start contemplating what we should demolish and rebuild.”

While the government has pledged a “right of return”, it is unclear if one of the remaining families at Wentworth Park Road will be able to return due to the removal of three-bedroom units in the redevelopment plans.

Tenant Irma Cortez expressed concern about her dislocation from community. “I’ve been here 18 years. My kids and I need 3 bedrooms. We won’t be able to come back.”

Sisson indicated that reductions in the quantity of bedrooms must be scrutinised, citing plans for Waterloo South, which preference one-bedroom dwellings, as an example of poor governance.

“It is the trend for newly-built public and community homes to be smaller than what they’re replacing”, Sisson said. “Partly that is due to the changing composition of the waiting list… The government is saying that the majority of new applicants are singles.”

“There are plenty of people on the waiting list who needs two or three-bedroom places. As people’s needs change, they might need a carer to stay overnight. They might enter a relationship, for example.”

The proposed redevelopment for the Franklyn Street Estate in Glebe would have added 22 extra social housing dwellings to the current number – 108. But critics have suggested that the total amount of people in social housing on the property would have, in fact, decreased precisely because many of the new homes would have had only one bedroom.

An Action for Public Housing spokeperson described reduced-size public and affordable homes as “cells for the poor”.

Kobi Shetty MP, Greens Member for Balmain welcomed the news that the Franklyn Street Estate has been saved. “Congratulations to the hundreds of locals and community groups who wrote submissions, attended public meetings, and supported the campaigns to protect these homes from being sold-off.”

She also expressed support for the community campaign to prevent the demolition at Wentworth Park Road: “I urge the minister to consider the alternative proposal put forward by the community to increase the housing at 82 Wentworth Park Rd while avoiding demolition.”

Homelessness NSW, however, has supported the demolition of the Wentworth Park building. Homelessness NSW CEO Trina Jones posed in a photo posted to Twitter with Minister Rose Jackson.

The redevelopment of 82 Wentworth Park Rd in Glebe will more than double the amount of public housing at the site. Homelessness NSW CEO Trina Jones w/@RoseBJackson , Kat – who has spent 2 years waiting for permanent housing – and Shelter NSW CEO @EngelerJohn. pic.twitter.com/3GuC8fN8cS

— Homelessness NSW (@HomelessnessNSW) June 17, 2023

Community resistance to continue 

Activists have indicated they will not relent in their campaign to save 82 Wentworth Park Road as it currently stands.

According to an Action for Public Housing spokesperson, “there are a lot of people who are pledging their support to re-occupy Wentworth Park Road. That is certainly one of the cards on the table.”

“Wentwork Park Road is a really important struggle to us because the Fish Market redevelopment at Blackwattle Bay holds absolutely no public housing.”