By Socialist Party reporters
In late March the Victorian Liberal Government was forced to back down on its plans to sell-off open space at the Fitzroy and North Richmond public housing estates. This was due to pressure from the growing Hands Off Melbourne’s Estates (H.O.M.E.) campaign to defend and extend public housing. The campaign was initiated by the Socialist Party and is made up of local public and private housing residents.
By Socialist Party reporters
The Socialist Party will be contesting the seat of Melbourne in this year’s federal election. The party’s candidate will be former City of Yarra Councillor, and Secretary of the UNITE union, Anthony Main. The Socialist Party will strive to offer a progressive alternative to the ALP and Greens who have been in a defacto coalition at a federal level for most of the past 3 years.
The seat of Melbourne is unique in that it is the only federal lower house seat held by the Greens. At the last election many people voted for the Greens candidate Adam Bandt in the hope that he would be somewhat different to the major parties. Unfortunately Bandt has proved to be little different to his ALP predecessor.
By Socialist Party reporters
Melbourne’s inner-city public housing tenants have won a major victory against the Victorian State Liberal government and greedy developers. A project worth in excess of half a billion dollars was stopped in its tracks by a community campaign that was led by the Socialist Party.
As we reported last month, the government had informed Yarra Council via a confidential briefing paper that it wanted to construct 800 private units and 10,000 square meters of office and retail space on what is currently the green, public, open space around the high rise towers of the Fitzroy estate.
The Victorian Liberal Government was forced into a partial back down on its plans to sell-off open space at the Fitzroy and North Richmond public housing estates yesterday.
This embarrassing retreat has come hot on the heals of a growing community campaign. The campaign was born out of mass meetings on the estates and has called a rally for 2pm Sunday March 24 at the Atherton Gardens public housing estate in Fitzroy (corner of Brunswick and Gertrude Streets).
Despite this partial victory the rally will go ahead demanding that the government also withdraw its plans to part-privatise the Prahran estate and invest in the improvement and expansion of public housing across the state.
By Councillor Stephen Jolly, Socialist Party
An important community campaign is evolving on Melbourne’s inner-city public housing estates. The campaign is in response to a long awaited announcement by the Victorian Liberal State government sneakily made in a confidential briefing to Yarra Councillors three days after Christmas Day. Two of the three estates earmarked for drastic changes are in the Yarra Council municipality, with the third one in nearby Prahran.
The State government wants to sell to developers as much as they can of what is now prime public housing land. The Age newspaper reported that the provisions of the leaked ‘Draft Masterplan’ for the Fitzroy and North Richmond public housing estates would mean thousands of square meters of new private sector commercial office and retail space.
By Socialist Party Councillor, Stephen Jolly
A relatively-minor parking spat in Richmond goes to the heart of the political divide that currently exists between the Socialist Party and all of the other forces on Yarra Council in inner-city Melbourne.
Last year Coles (in their joint role as supermarket owners and property developers) and the ALP/Green alliance that ran the Council reached an agreement on a new development in central Richmond. The development would include a larger supermarket and several high-rise apartment towers. Coles were granted several hundred parking waivers on the ridiculous basis that many of the new tenants and their visitors, plus the Coles customers, wouldn’t use cars.
See below the text from our latest newsletter which being letterboxed to every house in Yarra over the next couple of weeks.
Campaigning to protect public housing and open space
The Liberal State government have told Yarra Council that they want to build hundreds of private units on land at the Fitzroy and Richmond public housing estates. Initial plans are for 900 extra units at the Richmond estate and 800 more at Fitzroy. They also plan to build offices and retail outlets.
If allowed to go ahead this would mean a loss of open space and playgrounds while hundreds of people would be forced to relocate.
Socialists increase vote and retain Stephen Jolly’s seat
October 27 saw elections take place across Victorian councils. The Socialist Party stood five candidates in the City of Yarra municipality which is located in the inner north of Melbourne.
The press widely reported these elections being some of the ‘dirtiest’ in recent times. In many electorates reports of stolen ballots, scuffles between candidates, and misrepresentations of party affiliations were the dominant focus.
By Socialist Party reporters Melbourne
