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Feature
Jeannie was forced to relocate twice in four years. This is her message for the government
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese sang praise for the first project under his government's $2 billion social housing accelerator fund. Not everyone is convinced social housing is the answer to Australia's housing crisis.
Published 7 October 2023 10:28am
By Ewa Staszewska
Source: SBS News
Image: Jeannie Erceg was shocked when the redevelopment of the Barak Beacon estate, pictured being demolished behind her, was announced. (Anthony Snowden/Box4)
Jeannie Erceg was "devastated" when her second home in four years was torn down.
Erceg and her daughter Jasmine, who has autism, had to relocate to the Barak Beacon estate in Port Melbourne when their public housing home of 24 years in another part of Melbourne was demolished.
When Erceg, 52, got the news that a second public housing estate would be pulled down for redevelopment as part of the Victorian government's Big Housing Build project, her heart broke at the prospect of having to move again.
Tenants of the Barak Beacon estate campaigned for the site not to be redeveloped. Credit: Renters and Housing Union/JR Hewitt
"I said, 'Surely, you must have known that they were going to be demolished when I was sent here.' And they said they didn't know anything about that."
The Barack Beacon estate is being redeveloped into a mix of social and affordable housing, and is due to be finished in 2026. The Victorian government has stated that all residents will be supported to relocate and Erceg has been promised a home back at the site when it's rebuilt.
Public homes are designated to offer their tenants affordable housing with long-term rentals, providing a sense of housing security for many vulnerable Australians.
However, the recent government pledge to , and build more social housing across Australia, has impacted that sense of security for some of its tenants.
In announcing the initiative, the Victorian government stated the buildings slated for redevelopment had reached, "the end of their useful lives", and built prior to current building codes, no longer meet a variety of standards. The 44 sites will be retired and rebuilt progressively.
The project has faced criticism from the Greens, along with some rental advocates, urban development experts and tenants, for replacing a portion of these public dwellings with community and private homes.
"It's terrible, because when they are demolished, the buildings that will replace them, they won't be under the heading of public housing," Erceg said.
"They will be replaced with private and community housing, but it's not the same."
According to Homes Victoria, the Barak Beacon redevelopment will contain a mix of social, affordable and market rental homes.
The fund was announced in June as the federal government sought to convince the Greens to back its — the proceeds of which will be pumped into social and affordable housing.
Announcing the Melbourne project alongside then Victorian premier Daniel Andrews in September, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: "An option of a less visionary government than this bloke's (Daniel Andrews) would be [to] flog it off, knock it over. Private developers would benefit."
But Victorian Greens leader Samantha Ratnam, who has criticised the state government for what she sees as an intent on "ending public housing in Victoria", said the prime minister's statement was a "real contradiction".
"He lauded this government while they've actually been privatising the sites," Ratnam said.
What's the difference between public and social housing?
Under Victoria's Big Build program, the homes of 10,000 tenants will be redeveloped to fit 30,000 people over three decades. But Ratnam warns that the mix of homes replacing them will not mean more public housing, despite a soaring demand for them.
"Social housing is an umbrella term that encompasses both public and community housing," she said.
"Community housing is often offered at a subsidised rate to renters, but is operated by non-government providers."
Under current modelling, public housing makes up the majority of social housing but this is in danger from redevelopments announced by the Victorian government.
"Community housing is an important part of housing solutions for the community … [but it] was never designed to replace public housing," Ratnam said.
"What we are seeing in Victoria is the government retreating from their responsibility to provide enough public housing for people."
Victorian Greens leader Samantha Ratnam has pushed for the Allan government to be more transparent around it's plans for redeveloping public housing. Source: Getty / Darrian Traynor
There's increasing demand for public housing, with 174,600 households on waitlists in 2022 compared to 154,600 in 2014, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
Community housing can cost tenants more
The spokesperson for the Renters and Housing Union (RAHU), JR Hewitt, said the difference between public and community housing was stark.
"With public housing, you pay 25 per cent of your income and you get a full house to yourself," he said.
"It's genuinely affordable because once you hit the 30 per cent mark, you go into what's known as housing stress."
Hewitt said in contrast, community housing providers often use the full 30 per cent cap and ask for additional "top-ups" from payments like the Commonwealth Rent Assistance, which is a non-taxable payment available to tenants in private or community housing.
"What we are finding is that people are spending 40 per cent, sometimes over 50 per cent of their income (on housing)," Hewitt said.
The Community Housing Industry Association (CHIA) has refuted these claims around cost, arguing that the sector is rigorously regulated to ensure housing remains affordable.
"Community housing exists to improve the lives of renters and all policy decisions, including rent setting, are made in line with that underlying aim," CHIA CEO Sarah Toohey told SBS News.
"Every dollar collected in rent is invested back into better services for renters and building more social housing."
The RAHU helped campaign against the destruction of the Barak Beacon estate alongside Erceg and wants the government to build more public housing.
Ratnam said building public housing to ensure people had "access to a safe and secure place to call home" would free up private rentals, increase supply and alleviate the impacts of .
Questions about social accelerator fund nationally
Erceg admits that although she faces at least one more move, she is one of the lucky ones remaining in the area.
She initially refused several offers for new public homes, as she felt they did not meet the accessibility needs for her daughter and were outside the zone where she is currently receiving disability support services, which would be a considerable disruption.
The pair are now in a private rental at a subsidised cost while they wait for Berek Beacon to be rebuilt, where they've been guaranteed one of the public homes.
However, she would like the government to keep other tenants in the area and focus on renovating the public estates dear to the communities that have lived in them for decades.
"Renovate, don’t destroy the buildings and the communities that are there," Erceg said, arguing that the government needs to be more transparent with future plans.
The Victorian government has said that if it did invest in repairs and maintenance for the towers, their projected cost would be $2.3 billion, and say that with this, they may not reach contemporary codes, energy ratings or meet accessibility needs.
Following enquiries from tenants and the Greens for further clarity around the Carlton Towers, the Victorian government told SBS News that the Carlton estate will remain all public housing.
But it remains unclear what the mix of private, community and public housing will be for the remainder of the developments announced both locally and nationally under the "social housing" umbrella.
"The first two towers to be redeveloped will be the Carlton 'red brick' towers on the corner of Nicholson and Elgin Streets, where 196 homes will be replaced with 231 homes," a Victorian government spokesperson said.
"All homes in this development will be public housing."
