Below is a letter to the Minister from HAAG
- July 2006

The Minister for Housing Candy Broad must be kidding if she believes Victorians will accept the pathetic spin job she is trying on us regarding her handover of prime inner city public housing land to a private developer (broad brush treatment paints Canberra in poor light TMT July 5). We believe it is time the Premier sacked this incompetent Minister for betraying the needs of people on low incomes in Victoria in preference to handing prime inner Melbourne land to people with wealth.

Let's look at the facts. The Minister spins the line that this is the biggest public housing development by the Bracks Government and says "We've been able to get 25% more housing than we could with a straight public housing model." Reality: The Minister's own consultants admit that there will be a decrease of 140 public tenants at the site. Where are the families who have lived on this estate for years going to be moved to? Were they asked if they want to leave?

Also, the Minister is not only giving a developer enough prime inner city land to build 550 apartments for the rich but is giving them $50 million to re-build the public housing component of 247 units. We have asked to meet with the Minister to find out what the developer will contribute to this land grab opportunity but she has continually refused to meet with our organisation or be accountable in any public forum.

There are 35,000 families on the public housing waiting list. 800 public housing units could have been built on this land and even if the funds could not be found immediately the land could be retained in public hands for staged public housing developments in future years.

Action must be taken now as the Minister has announced similar schemes for Richmond and South Melbourne.

Yours sincerely,

Doreen Rushby
Chairperson
Housing for the Aged Action Group Inc.

A Report on page 5 of
The Age Newspaper
of 26 August 2006 is called

Carlton playground battle on for young and old

A proposed road through
a playground..

Loss of play space on
the Estate that is like 'backyard' space especially when flats are so oppressive over summer..

The public-private partnership proposals go on and on..!