HOUSING ACTIVISTS AND HOMELESS PEOPLE OCCUPY EMPTY PUBLIC HOUSING ESTATE IN GLEBE
PRESS RELEASE: Friday June 20, 6.30am
PRESS RELEASE: Friday June 20, 6.30am
HOUSING ACTIVISTS AND HOMELESS PEOPLE OCCUPY EMPTY PUBLIC HOUSING ESTATE IN GLEBE
Press Conference: 9.30am at 82 Wentworth Park Road, Glebe and 2pm at Wentworth Park Rd, Glebe opposite the 82 Wentworth Park Road, Glebe estate
Activists and people made homeless are occupying the 82 Wentworth Park Road Glebe public housing estate on Friday June 20 from 7am onwards.
They demand the Chris Minns ALP government stop the demolition and sell-off of the estate and all other public homes under threat. They are calling on the government to refurbish and refill the empty homes with people who are on the public housing waiting list.
When: Occupation from 7am onwards.
Where: Public housing estate at 82 Wentworth Park Road, Glebe.
What: Press Conference at 9.30am at 82 Wentworth Park Road, Glebe and 2pm opposite the estate.
Action for Public Housing is calling on concerned community members and unions to help protect public housing from demolition. We demand the government stop their demolition proposals of public housing in a housing crisis.
ALP Premier Chris Minns and Housing Minister Rose Jackson have evicted all residents in 82 Wentworth Park Rd, Glebe public housing estate in preparation for demolition. The original public housing estate tenants were initially evicted two years ago by the Liberal state government. The state ALP government then approved the site for demolition.
Emily Valentine, Hands Off Glebe, said:
“We are occupying this estate because we are sick of this ALP led war on the homelessness community. I am a housing estate resident in Franklyn Street, Glebe and we fought off a demolition proposal and won. I am appalled that the ALP are moving against the Glebe estate community again. We’ve had architects develop a plan for 82 Wentworth which would increase density, but keep the estate in public hands, but the ALP government ignored us.“
Carolyn Ienna, former 82 Wentworth Rd, Glebe tenant, First Nations and A4PH activist said:
“I helped activists occupy my estate two years ago and I will help them again. I endured being evicted two years ago. It was horrific. We had two tenants pass away from the trauma of the forced removal. This is a war on the poor. Plus a sell off of public lands. They’re privatising this land. But turning homes into profiteering ventures is the cause of the housing crisis. Our government clearly doesn’t care about us.”
Andrew Chuter, Action for Public Housing said:
“Sydney’s rents are sky-high. The waiting list for public housing is 65,000 high and rising. We’re the city and state with the highest homelessness rate in the country, doubling within a year. In 2022, 34,000 people were homeless in New South Wales. In 2023, homeless emergency services reported the homelessness community rising to 62,000.”
Karyn Brown, Waterloo South resident and A4PH activist said:
“Minns is an eviction and demolition Premier. In five months he has evicted people in Pine Street Lismore public owned houses (recovered flood homes), Glebe Wentworth Park public housing estate, and the Waterloo South estate to hasten the sell off of public lands and bolster developer profits. They are evicting people in Mascot public housing estate, Maroubra, Kingsford and have plans for South Eveleigh. This is an unprecedented attack on public housing. We will resist to save 82 Wentworth Park Rd and all the other homes slated for demolition.”
BACKGROUND
82 Wentworth Park Road was slated for demolition when Labor came to government in 2023. During the election campaign, current minister for housing and homelessness Rose Jackson promised that no public housing would be sold off or privatised, including a commitment to save the estate in Glebe.
The site has 17 dwellings in it, five houses that were home to families and the rest being one bedroom apartments. 82 Wentworth Road is opposite a homeless community in Wentworth Park. The park residents have been looking at the (mostly) empty dwellings lying opposite them for almost two years.
In June 2023, as evictions from 82 Wentworth Park Road were continuing under the Minns government, Action for Public Housing and community members occupied and defended the property and won a reprieve for the inner city estate for two years. A respected heritage architecture firm provided the state government with an alternative development proposal that would preserve the current homes and increase the number of dwellings on the site, which would achieve the government’s stated goal without displacing people, the cost of demolition, or losing the use of homes on the site during construction.
Contact Emily 0424 234 448, Carolyn 0415 362 793, Andrew 0412 723 565,
Karyn 0432 409 711 Rachel 0403 517 266