| It’s been almost two years since the Victorian Labor Government announced plans to demolish all 44 of the public housing towers in Melbourne. In this time community, housing advocates, public housing residents and the Victorian Greens have mobilised to fight this demolition. Gabrielle De Vietri shares what has been happening in Victoria. |
A community picket…
It’s not often you can bring together over a hundred people at 7am on a Monday morning, but that’s what we did picketing pre-demolition works back in July. We got a notice from residents still living in one of the Flemington towers late on Sunday night. They were in utter disbelief that the government would begin drilling and dismantling apartments while people were still living there. Residents were told there would be workers in HazMat suits entering the building, so they should keep doors and windows closed.
In a flurry, I sent out messages and put up a post on social media. The next morning we showed up in the rain alongside 100 other community members. We spoke with workers to let them know that we were there to support residents and stop the work. They rang their bosses and clocked off for the day. It was our first victory.
What proceeded was a rolling program of pickets, protests, stake outs and lock-ons across Flemington, North Melbourne and Richmond estates. A dedicated network of almost 500 people joined our new Whatsapp community, ready to turn up and stop the demolition.
This was the first physical display of resistance to the demolition projects since 2024, and Labor was scared.
How the fight began
Almost exactly two years ago, ex Premier Daniel Andrews stood shoulder to shoulder with property developers to announce that the Victorian Labor Government would be demolishing all 44 of the public housing towers in Melbourne and handing the land to private property developers. Residents in the towers found out through a press conference that they would be forced out of their homes. Premier Andrews announced his resignation the following week leaving the project with his successor, Jacinta Allan.
Two years later, Housing Minister Harriet Shing is defensive, avoidant and frankly triggered whenever we ask questions about this plan.
Together, as a community, we are fighting this project with every lever that we have. Residents from the inside, on the ground, through the courts, in the media and in parliament. We’ve just concluded months of public hearings for the parliamentary inquiry that the Greens secured into the decision to demolish. Months of submission writing workshops, supporting residents to have their voices heard, and widespread communication about this disastrous plan, resulted in over 800 submissions, overwhelmingly calling for the project to be cancelled.
Throughout the hearings, witnesses told us of widespread coercive and misleading practices from relocation officers, and an at-all-costs approach by the government. We heard of the disproportionate impact that this plan would have on vulnerable and already marginalised residents. Experts demonstrated that a retrofit approach and a plan to build more public housing would have far better social, environmental and financial outcomes. From community lawyers, to services providers, human rights experts and architects, the government’s lack of transparency and accountability was a major theme emerging from the hearings.
The sobering reality was clear: this project was designed to divide communities and push them out of prime real estate so it can be handed off to property developers.
Where to from here?
Questions still remain: where is the Government’s business case for this project? Where is the evidence that they should demolish rather than refurbish? So far, Labor has been unable or unwilling to produce these documents.
As we await the final report and recommendations from the Parliamentary inquiry, the campaign continues to build. Residents and the broader community are gearing up for a fight. We will not let Labor demolish our much-loved public housing. We want them to build more and look after what we have. If you want to join us or find out more about the campaign, get in touch: gabrielle.devietri@parliament.vic.gov.au.
