SHAC - Sydney Housing Action Collective: [EMAIL PROTECTED]:
Background Briefing
Yesterday afternoon (Wednesday 23/8/00), representatives of South Sydney
City Council attempted to evict a large number residents from council-owned
premises on Broadway, Sydney.
The Council staff refused to negotiate with the squatters and called the
police to have them evicted without any notice.
South Sydney Council wants the buildings - which are all listed as items of
environmental heritage - to be demolished. The Council then wants to hand
the site over to the Walker Corporation to build 130 residential
apartments.
South Sydney City Council have repeatedly acknowledged the impact that the
Olympic games is having on the levels of homelessness and the availability
of affordable housing in Sydney.
Many of the affected residents have been pushed out of the private rental
market by Olympic-exacerbated rent increases and no-ground evictions.
The residents are prepared to negotiate with the Council about moving out
on reasonable terms. At the South Sydney City Council meeting last night,
an urgent motion was past allowing the squatters to negotiate with the
Council on the terms of their residency.
Please support the residents. Please circulate this alert, phone the
Council and Councillors and send letters and faxes of support either to UTS
Community Law and Legal Research Centre (fax : 95142919) or directly to
South Sydney City Council (see contact list below).
Points to include in letters and faxes of support
1. That the residents should be able to stay in the South Sydney Council
premises until the designated development with Walker Corporation is ready
to proceed and preparations are made for the demolition of the buildings.
2. That South Sydney Council extend their public liability insurance to
cover the period of residency until the designated development and
demolition with Walker Corporation is set to proceed.
3. That South Sydney Council agree to signing provisional tenancy
arrangements with the affected residents allowing them to stay until the
demolition is set to proceed.
4. That South Sydney Council assist reducing levels of homelessness by
finding alternative accommodation for those affected by the Council
eviction.
Phone and Fax details for South Sydney City Council members
John Fowler -
ph 92885012
fax 9288599
Greg Shaw -
Ph 93609347
Fax 93609347
Jill Lay _
Ph 95199546
Fax 95199546
John Bush _
Ph 93196265
Fax 93196265
Shayne Mallard -
Ph 93600695
Fax 93600695
Amanda Lennon -
Ph 93608735
Fax 93608735
Christine Harcourt -
Ph 93315096
Fax 93605381
Tony Pooley -
Ph 93107308
Fax 93107308
Peter Furness -
Ph 9699 1369
Fax 83991775
Phone and Fax details for South Sydney City Council
General Business and Services :
Ph 92885000
Fax 92885999
<or, use the below sample letter>
Mayor, John Fowler, All member of Council
South Sydney Council
Fax: 9288 5990
24th August 2000
Dear Mayor and Members of Council
Re: Eviction of residents occupying Council premises on Owens Lane, Broadway
I wish to express my support for the motion passed at Council meeting
(23.8.00) that the eviction of the residents be stayed for a minimum of 24
hours and that a further period of time for negotiations for a reasonable
timeframe on how best the move be accommodated.
Numerous reports, (such as those produced by Rentwatchers and the
Australian Centre for Independent Journalism) indicate massive rental
increases, 9 year waiting lists for public housing and the increasing rise
of homeless people sleeping on the streets in the lead up to the Olympics.
Indeed, South Sydney Council has recognised in past meetings these Olympic
impacts and has been concerned on how to alleviate these impacts.
It is clear that in the circumstances where council has vacant livable
unoccupied premises, that policy and protocols to allow residency for those
members of the community squeezed out by a lack of affordable housing is
not only necessary, but legally manageable.
I ask that appropriate steps be taken to allow the residents to remain
occupying the premises until the development consent is finalised and not
before preparations need to be made for the demolition of the site. To
facilitate this, it is within Councils jurisdiction to extend its public
liability insurance to cover the residents until development begins.
Further, Council has a responsibility to give its in principle commitment
to alleviating housing shortage a pragmatic reality by developing policy
and protocols on allowing residency of its unoccupied premises.
I trust that Council will negotiate with the residents with due fairness in
light of the social justice implications of vacant council property and the
dire situation of housing in Sydney.
I would ask that this letter be tabled at the next meeting of council.
Yours Sincerely
Vicki Sentas
Education Research Officer
UTS Students' Association
PO Box 123
Broadway NSW 2007
Ph: (02) 9514 1165
Fax: (02) 9514 1157
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