Protestors rally for housing justice

Jordan Anderson and Harrison Brennan

More than one hundred protesters gathered at Town Hall on Saturday to demand housing justice and better living conditions.

The protest, organised by Action for Public Housing, demanded the government end homelessness, abolish no grounds evictions, end public housing demolitions, and implement a rent freeze.

The rally was chaired by a spokesperson for A4PH who spoke to the group’s primary demands, noting the “critical link” between the housing crisis and First Nations justice on unceded Gadigal land.

Activist and public housing resident Carolyn Veg Ienna contrasted the community facilitated by public housing with their poor treatment by housing authorities. “I really love that place, I have friendships with other neighbours, but it is more than that: we rely on each other,” they said.

Karen Brown, a public housing tenant and activist, spoke to the government’s unrelenting assault on Waterloo public housing.

“They claim that 30% of public housing is the right mix, public housing is only 12% of all housing in Waterloo. There has been a massive increase in housing in Waterloo over the last decade and none of it is public.”

The rally foregrounded the imminent state government election, which occasionally overshadowed the speeches of those with lived experience of housing insecurity.

Rose Jackson, the Labor Shadow Minister for Housing and Homelessness, spoke about Labor’s intentions to merge three housing bodies into Homes NSW. Jackson said that “Labor acknowledges we are in a housing crisis. Labor have committed to establishing Homes NSW as a central public housing agency in this state.”

The Greens Member for Newtown, Jenny Leong said that “this is not a new crisis,” describing NSW as a state run by “big developers.”

“I say fuck you to your 70-30 split,” Leong said, referring to the 70% private housing and 30% social housing built on public land redevelopments.

Rachel Evans, the Socialist Alliance candidate for the NSW legislative assembly and prominent LGBTQI+ activist, said that the state of housing