Aren’t the houses in Bellambi in bad condition and need to be knocked down?
The vast majority of these houses are structurally sound, built from brick in the 1970s and 1980s. If they were properly maintained, they could last many more decades.
Homes NSW and the government seem to be intentionally letting these houses run down. First they cut funding, then they neglect maintenance, then they say the houses are in disrepair and must be sold off to the private sector. All to serve their corporate mates.
There is plenty of funding earmarked for maintenance and renovation, but tenants go for years with broken plumbing and holes in the walls. Where does the money go?
Don’t we need to build more houses to fight the housing crisis?
There are plenty of places that the government has found in its land audit that are suitable for public housing but they’re selling it off to the private sector instead.
Working class people shouldn’t have to pay for a problem created by the banks, the property investors, and the big developers! If the government really wanted to solve the housing crisis, they would tax the banks and force property investors to build public housing in any new builds.
There’s not a housing supply problem, there is a market problem. Housing has increased faster than population since 2020 but our rents and mortgages keep going up. More market houses won’t solve the problem, only public housing.
What’s the alternative?
Any rebuild should be 100% public housing! No sell offs, no long-term leases, no public land into private hands.
Tenants and residents at Bellambi are not against increasing the amount of public housing in the estate. But it should be done with respect for the existing tenants and in keeping with the character of the community. More townhouses, single-storey elder care units, and even some walk-up apartments are welcome.
Every existing tenant should be offered like-for-like replacements in any rebuild. No family should be forced out of a three-bedroom house and offered a two-bedroom apartment to return to.
