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

Summer of Public Housing

28 Dec 2022
In this special summer edition, we hear extracts from a number of interviews we have done in 2022 on the topic of public housing. Firstly, Dr David Kelly crunches the numbers on the Big Housing Build announcement, then we hear fom Barack Beacon resident Margaret Kelly. Lucie McMahon, documentary maker, talks about the experience of the Walker St public housing estate in Northcote and Simon Robinson from OFFICE talks about cost-effective alternatives to demolition. In between Shane has a rant about the government's treatement of public housing.
Listen in on 3cr.org.au

Retain, Repair, Reinvest

23 Nov 2022
Shane and Fiona talk to Simon Robinson, managing director of not-for-profit research firm Office about their recently release reports to Retain, Repair and Reinvest in the Ascot Vale and Barack Beacon public housing estates, rather than demolishing them and giving them to private developers.You can find the reports here: https://office.org.au/
Listen in on 3cr.org.au

HAAG was shocked at reports of a “hard lockdown” being enforced by police on public housing tenants in Flemington and North Melbourne on Saturday.  This response was inappropriate and stigmatized low income, mostly migrant Victorians, many of whom have English as a second language.

Housing for the Aged Action Group have always maintained that Public housing is the best option for older people on low incomes, and that we need more of it. The state government’s proposal to sell off the land adjoining 9 public housing sites, and to transfer the management of the public housing properties to private enterprise does not align with this objective. They are calling this the Public Housing Renewal Project, and we agree that Public Housing should be renewed, and maintained to an adequate, efficient standard. But it must remain in public hands.

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