Tree falls on deaf ears in Erskineville public housing estate

BY JORDAN FERMANIS

A tree that fell at the Erskineville public housing estate on Friday August 12 has revealed the lack of assistance given to residents of the estate by government bodies.

A long term resident who has been living at the estate since August 1992 who wishes to remain anonymous has told City Hub that when she alerted Housing NSW that the tree was about to fall she felt as though no one cared.

“The lady on the phone said, ‘It doesn’t sounds like a big tree to me.’ Even though I had described it as over two stories.”

“We just didn’t get any response from FACs. I have not had any response from them,” the resident said.

The housing estate is located on Swanston St in Erskineville and dates back to pre-World War II. Some residents of the estate have been living there since then.

The resident said that the treatment she has received from FACS is not uncommon, citing that communication between residents at the housing estate and government agencies is infrequent.

“This is very usual, we are always getting shabby treatment. They treat us like we are a nuisance. We really believe that they want to sell it to developers,” the resident said.

The City of Sydney Council told City Hub that they had advised Housing NSW twice that one tree was in “urgent need of removal” but that the council was powerless to act as the tree was located on private land.

“The City approved the removal of two trees within the Housing NSW estate.

City officers advised Housing NSW twice that one tree in particular was in urgent need of removal.

Although the City is the consent authority for the removal of trees on private land, the City does not remove trees unless they are on public land,” a City of Sydney spokesperson said.

The resident has flagged concerns that FACS knowingly endangered those living on the estate with failure to act until the final hour when the tree did in fact fall.

In a statement given to City Hub a FACS spokesperson said that they were aware of a fallen tree but failed to mention the numerous attempts the resident had made to have the tree removed before it fell.

“The Department of Family and Community Services is aware of the fallen tree at 5 Swanston Street and has repaired the damaged wires and guttering.

Additional arrangements have been made to have the tree removed by COB Friday, 12 August. The tree poses no safety risks to residents,” a FACS spokesperson said.

With similarly inadequate community consultation seen in the Millers Point estate sell off as well as the Waterloo public housing debacle, this latest incident shows that residents of public housing are not having their voices heard.