Public Housing Campaigns

Public housing is an appropriate housing option for older people, as rents are capped at 25% of income, and it provides security of tenure. HAAG advocates for investment Public and Community Housing to raise it to 10% of all housing stock across the country.

Meanwhile, Victoria has the lowest level of Public Housing stock in the country, and the state plans plans to “retire and redevelop” the public housing towers over the coming decades. Our concerns lie with older tenants living in public housing high rises, older people on the waitlist for public housing and/or living in extremely unaffordable private rental, the use of public land, the impact of relocations, and the future of public housing.

Latest Public Housing Campaign Updates

Submission to the Inquiry into the redevelopment of Melbourne’s public housing towers

The Victorian Government's plans to "retire and redevelop" public housing towers in Flemington and North Melbourne raise serious concerns about the future of genuine public housing. While residents have been promised relocation assistance and the right to return, the proposed redevelopments will only increase "social" housing units by a mere 10%, with the majority of new apartments being privately owned. Critical details regarding land ownership, development types, and the preservation of public housing remain undisclosed. Our submission makes recommendations to address these serious concerns.

Read the submission here

Joint submission to the Inquiry into the redevelopment of Melbourne’s public housing towers

Our joint submission alongside a wide range of community and legal organisations calls on the inquiry to recognise these shared principles, respecting the rights of Public Housing tower residents!

Read our joint submission

Flemington high rise residents speak

23 Oct 2024
We hear from older residents of the Flemington public housing high rise slated for redevelopment, recorded at a community meeting on 19 September (thanks Danielle!)Residents are Awatif, Khadija, Ka-tam and Osman and we also hear from Jeannie, former resident of Bang Street and Barack Beacon, speaking at a rally for public housing on Saturday 19 October.You can read the article about OFFICE research into alternatives to redevelopment here: https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/the-simple-solution-to-the-public-housing-towers-knock-down-that-could-save-taxpayers-millions-20241009-p5kgwd.htmlTo follow the court case, go to Save Public Housing collective's instagram page
Listen in on 3cr.org.au

World Homeless Day plea – VPTA and HAAG push for bold public housing commitment

This World Homeless Day, the Victorian Public Tenants Association (VPTA) is calling on the state government to urgently address the social housing crisis by committing to the delivery of at least 60,000 new social housing homes, a strong proportion of which must be public housing homes, over the next decade.

Flemington High Rise Residents concerned about relocations

In September, the Save Public Housing Collective held a residents meeting at 120 Racecourse Road in Flemington. It was attended by approximately 60 residents of the estate, many of whom were older tenants. Residents were asked to contribute to the discussion, and we think more than anything else, it’s important to hear directly from older residents about their concerns. What follows is some of what they said.

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