Over two thousand locals in Sydney’s inner-city have signed a petition against plans to privatise huge areas of public housing land for Waterloo South Estate’s redevelopment.
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Leading the campaign, Action For Public Housing managed to submit over 2,700 objections to the privatisation of Waterloo South during the statutory public exhibition for the project in April 2022.
“This development would evict hundreds of public housing tenants from their homes for little to no public benefit – fewer than 100 hundred additional social housing units in a state with more than 50,000 households on the waiting list,” Action For Public Housing stated.
Based on NSW Land and Housing Corporation’s plans, the redevelopment would entail the privatisation of around 70 percent of public housing at Waterloo South Estate, with an aim to “help deliver new social housing, affordable housing, and private homes with access to improved community facilities, shops and transport.”
According to Action for Public Housing, the 847 social housing units proposed for Waterloo South is far too low for a site of this size and development of this scale.
“This is an addition of only 98 social homes, while there are more than 1000 households on the waiting list for public housing in the inner city allocation zone,”
“These are the people who need public housing right now; by the time the development is complete, there will be many more. Any development of public land should prioritise public housing.”
The group believes the NSW Government and Commonwealth Government should instead fund the construction and acquisition of new public housing and the proper repair, maintenance and refurbishment of existing public housing.
The proposed redevelopment of Waterloo Estate has been around since 2015, with earlier plans stating that only 30 percent of new housing would be social housing, which is 57 fewer than promised.
Residents who signed the petition agreed it was a “cunning attempt to sneak in an extra several hundred units for private sale and is a further betrayal of the promised 30 percent social housing.”
With regard to the issue, Lord Mayor Clover Moore said during a Council meeting that they will write to Minister for Planning and Homes Anthony John Roberts reaffirming the City’s call for significant increases in social and affordable housing in Waterloo, and for the state government to establish clear targets for social and affordable housing in the City.