Public or Social Housing
Condemned to poverty in a housing market gone mad
Tuesday, 01 February, 2011
By Michael Perusco
The Age
Government inaction is inexcusable when many thousands face crisis.
THE Age's front page story on the shortage of public housing starkly exposed the ever increasing demand for this accommodation and the impact the housing crisis is having on the most disadvantaged in our community.
To read the article in full click > here
Follow the link >here to view the article as it appeared online at the Age
Crisis grips public housing
Carol Nader
The Age
January 31, 2011
THE scale of Victoria's public housing crisis is revealed in government figures that show disadvantaged people are waiting up to 18 years before they are given a home.
With more than 41,000 people waiting for housing, the figures show the longest waiting time of an applicant allocated public housing last financial year was 226 months - 18 years and 10 months - in Melbourne's southern suburbs. The average waiting time for those allocated public housing in that region was almost four years.
To read the article in full click > here
Follow the link >here to view the article as it appeared online at the Age
Public housing system in crisis, says minister
Victoria's new Minister for Housing, Wendy Lovell, says she has inherited a crisis across her portfolio, including a public housing waiting list of 41,000 people.
...Ms Lovell has already ordered two audits...one to determine why so many public housing properties are vacant and another into the overall state of housing in Victoria.
Click on the image of Wendy Lovell to read the article by Richard Willingham as it appeared in print in the Age December 30, 2010.
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To read a text version of the article click >here
Sustaining and Growing Public Housing for Victorians in Housing Need.
The Victorian Parliament’s Family and Community Development Committee release the Committee’s Final Report of its Inquiry into Adequacy and Future Directions of Public Housing in Victoria on 6 October 2010.
“In a context of tight housing affordability, increasing numbers of Victorians are turning to public housing to meet their housing needs” said the Chair of the Committee, Mr Jude Perera MP.
To read the media release and to access a copy of the report, go to the webpage of the Parliament of Victoria / the Family and Community Development Committee > click here .
Damning report on housing, The Age Thursday 7 October 2010
The wait for public housing for some of Victoria's most vulnerable and disadvantaged citizens has almost trebled in the 10 years of the Labor government, a damning new parliamentary report has found.
The 400 page report - from a Labor-dominated committee - exposed a range of problems with the provision of low-cost housing, making 81 recommendations.
It called for the "need to support the development and retention of affordable housing" to be included as an objective of Victorian's planning laws, and the mandating of a fixed proportion of all new housing in an area to be affordable housing.
The report said "people experiencing or at risk of homelessness will wait an average of eight months to be allocated a public housing tenancy, increasing from three months in 1998 - 99".
Jason Dowling
Read the full story as it appeared online in the AGE >here
Robert Street, Northcote
The opening by Housing Minister Hon Richard Wynne MP of the units at 130 High Street, Northcote (access also from 1 Roberts Street, Northcote) on Tuesday was on 21 September on site. The development replaces the old walk-up units that were demolished in 2007.
To see images of the official launch click >here to go to the Photo Galleries page.
Another brick in the wall for public housing
Stephen Pascoe, The Age, Tuesday July 27, 2010
A missed public/private redevelopment plan has gone horribly wrong. "Live the good life" exhorts the sign plastered on a temporary display office at the corner of Rathdowne and Princes streets in Carlton. Behind the sign, cranes are laying foundations for new apartment buildings gooing up on land where there used to be public housing. Further back from this busy scene are the remaining structures built by the former Housing Commission. These faded brown towers look like ancient crumbling ruins, despite being built just 40 years ago.
To read the remainder of the article click >here
Housing for the Aged Action Group held a forum on Tuesday 29 June 2010 to discuss the future of public housing and the role of registered housing associations.
We encouraged our members and also residents living in public housing to register for this forum.
Workers from agencies who expressed an interest to attend were also welcomed.
To see photos of the forum click >here
Report released by the Victorian Auditor General on Wednesday 23 June 2010 "The Audit Summary of Access to Social Housing".
To increase the supply of affordable housing, the government launched a major housing policy in December 2003. Following this, amendments to the Housing Act 1983 set the basis for a newly established Registrar of Housing Agencies to register and regulate housing associations, the growth vehicles for affordable housing.
To read the Audit summary, click > here. 118KB
Access the Auditor-General's webpage with a summary and the full report 2.2MG >here.
Housing for the Aged Action Group lodged a submission to the Australian Government Discussion Paper "Regulation and Growth of the Not-for-Profit Housing Sector". 9 June 2010There has been a considerable range of information released from both the state and federal governments in recent months about the growth of the not-for-profit housing sector in Australia. The Commonwealth and the States are keen to direct government funds through these kinds of organisations in preference to increasing the supply of public housing. Most significantly, all Australian Housing Ministers agreed in May 2009 that the not-for-profit housing sector should grow from its current level of 10.8% to a figure up to 35% by 2014. This massive increase in housing stock can only be achieved by a large transfer of public housing stock.
HAAG has recently submitted a response to a discussion paper released by the Commonwealth called Regulation and Growth of the Not-For-Profit Housing Sector.
HAAG is concerned that major decisions are being made about the future of public and social housing without proper consultation with tenants who will be affected by the changes. We believe that no new housing developments should be endorsed, supported or funded by the Commonwealth or State Governments without ensuring that the benchmarks of decent housing that have been developed by state housing authorities over many years are matched by these organisations. To this end we also refer you to HAAG’s Housing Charter and Housing Justice for the Aged Manifesto. We believe that any new housing system should adhere to these principles if the government’s aim is to benefit the people for whom the housing is intended.
Click >here to download a copy of the HAAG submission. (1.35MB)
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Kensington estate sets the standard
by Rosemary Bolger
The Melbourne Times June 2 2010
The Kensington housing redevelopment has had the number of public housing units scaled back from an original 65 units to just 34 units. The majority of the units, 95, will be privately owned. The development was originally limited to just 65 units but the developer, Becton, applied to significantly increase the number of units. Read the full article >here
The Ageing Elephant in the Room
Read an article by Jeff Fiedler, Tenancy Advice / Policy Worker that appeared in the April 2010 edition of Parity.
In previous editons of Parity Housing for the Aged Action Group (HAAG) has highlighted the plight of older people caught in private rental housing poverty who are unable to afford increasing rents, are in constant fear of eviction and who need quality housing as they age.
While there are many groundbreaking policy initiatives that are being implemented from the White Paper, it is frustrating for organisations like ours that the Commonwealth Government again has ignored the plight of older private renters who are, by the governement's own estimation, the highest needs group of all ages and housing tenures...
Click >here to read the full article 666KB
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Progress Press Tuesday 13 April 2010
A Social Housing project in Balwyn has been met with opposition by locals. Burwood state Labor MP Bob Stensholt said Boroondara needed more social housing. “It’s terrific to give people who haven’t’ got a roof over their heads somewhere to live Mr Stensholt said.
Read the full article >here
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Housing a piece of the puzzle
Emerald Hill Weekly March 17 - 23 2010
Letters
The article “Tenants Union calls for housing management switch” (EHW, February 10-16) reported on only a small part of our comprehensive submissions to the inquiry on public housing.
Our full submission covered many other areas, including the need for a long-term affordable housing plan leading to more housing, linked support services, greater social mix, management reforms, job creation and high environmental standards.
Stephen Nash / CEO, HomeGround Services
Potential Loss of Public Housing 10 February 2010
HAAG was quite disturbed recently to see an article in The Emerald Hill Times that quoted a recommendation from the Tenants Union of Victoria for 50% of public housing to be transferred to private housing associations.
Members will be aware that HAAG has campaigned for many years against the transfer of public housing.
To read more, click >here
Housing statement a money grab
The Melbourne Times, Letters, March 3 2010
On whose behalf is the Tenants Union Victoria speaking when it advocates transferring “up to 50 per cent of public housing properties” to community housing management (“Let community groups run public housing says Tenants Union”, TMT, February 10)? Consultation with public tenants was absent from this paternalistic proposal, which bears the hallmarks of having been cooked up via the old boys’ network of NGO high-flyers and Labor ministers.
The intention is to boost the coffers of housing associations. More tenants mean more rental income.
The claim that community housing groups are better housing manages is a ludicrous one, as public tenants benefit from the Office of Housing having consistent management practices and uniform policies across the state.
The TUV knows that public tenants’ rent will rise by more than 5 per cent if they are forced into housing associations. But they have ditched social justice concerns in favour of speaking for the big end of town.
Kerrie Byrne / Port Melbourne
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