A major public housing site in inner-city Sydney is set to be redeveloped due to an increase in the number of people sleeping on the streets. The Glebe area has seen a 23 percent rise in residents resorting to living in their cars or on the streets. The tenants of the public housing apartments at 82 Wentworth Park Road will be temporarily relocated while the building is demolished and rebuilt into 43 one- and two-bedroom apartments. New South Wales (NSW) Minister for Housing and Homelessness Rose Jackson stated the urgency of addressing the dire state of social housing in inner Sydney. Jackson emphasized the government’s commitment to providing quality homes for vulnerable people throughout Sydney. The redevelopment will consist of 100 percent public housing and will be overseen by a new organization called Homes NSW.
Additionally, the Franklyn Street Estate in Glebe will not undergo redevelopment as previously planned. However, the government has purchased another 35 vacant properties in the area to be utilized for social housing. The former coalition government had sold nearly 5,000 public houses, prompting Labor to cease the policy after coming into power.
The announcement of the Glebe redevelopment was met with praise from those working directly with the city’s housing crisis. Trina Jones, CEO of Homelessness NSW, described the situation as the worst it has ever been, with a waiting list for social housing currently exceeding 10 years. Jones called for the government to dedicate 10 percent of housing in the state to social housing in the long term and advocated for increased investment in public housing.
The head of Shelter NSW, John Engeler, expressed support for the Glebe initiative and highlighted the importance of involving residents in the redesign process. Engeler believes that the new homes can be built quickly and made available to previous and new tenants. In Sydney’s CBD, approximately 100 people, including Jenny Leong, the Greens Member for Newtown, gathered for the Housing for People Not Profit protest. The protest was organized by Action for Public Housing and called for an increase in the construction and fair distribution of public housing, as well as an end to privatizing public housing.
The group believes that the federal government’s Housing Australia Future Fund is insufficient in addressing the housing crisis.