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Karyn Brown, Waterloo public housing tenant and activist, told the һƷ̽�� Show that New South Wales Labor’s plan to push ahead with the demolition of the Waterloo estate is “ridiculous”.

She said about 150 households had received eviction letters on February 27 and many were “in shock” and “confused about where they are going to go”.

Labor wants to take away 700 homes in Waterloo and South Eveleigh. “There’s just nowhere for them to go,” Brown said.

“Why are they moving these people out and tearing down their homes when there are no homes for people who are already homeless? Rather than unhousing us, they should concentrate on the people who need housing.”

At the election in 2023, Labor MP Ron Hoenig sent Waterloo residents a text message the night before polling day, claiming that “Only Labor will save your homes”.

Brown said after the election, Labor backflipped, saying it would “cost too much to get out of the contract”.

However, she said she had recently discovered that no contract has been signed with the developer. “There is no reason to go ahead [with the sale and demolition], but Labor continues to push ahead with it.”

Brown said investing in repairs and upgrades of existing housing stock would be far better — and cheaper — than demolition. Adding solar panels would make the units energy efficient and upgrades would make homes more accessible, she said.

Waterloo residents have been fighting for their homes for almost 10 years.

Brown said many are feeling “nervous” and “hoping it just stops”. “Once Labor broke its promise, a lot of people started looking for somewhere else to live but some of these other sites are also set to be demolished.”

Brown said the insecurity of not knowing where you are going to be living in a year’s time makes everything harder.

“What if you need new furniture, but you don’t know if it will fit in your new place, or if you are trying to plan a holiday in advance? There are so many things people have to work out — it is very stressful.”

Asked about community housing, Brown said public housing was better than community and so-called affordable housing because it is owned and managed by the government, while the latter is run by private organisations.

“Social” housing includes “public” and “community” housing. The term erases important differences. Meanwhile, “affordable” housing, set at 80% of market rates, is not affordable for so many.

Brown said Commonwealth Rent Assistance, the payment for people on Centrelink who rent privately or live in community housing, is effectively a subsidy for landlords and private organisations that manage community housing.

“That’s why community housing is often better maintained than public housing, because they have more money.” She said that it would be better for the money to be directly invested into public housing.

Brown said it was rare for community housing to have more than one bedroom, which makes it difficult for families, or people with pets, who are evicted from public housing.

Brown said Labor is claiming that the new developments will include “more social housing units”. “In Waterloo, they said the new developments will be 30% social housing. But, in an earlier plan, it showed just 26% of the floor space. They could build all one-bedroom units for all we know.”

She called out Labor’s claim that all new developments on public land will include social housing. “There’s a site on Parramatta Road, near the hospital and the university, with no social housing at all.

“Labor claims it will include affordable housing for nurses, police and teachers. But where can cleaners, hospital orderlies, Uber drivers and everyone else live?

“More public housing benefits everyone. Even if you don’t need it now, you might one day, or your friends or family will.”

Another problem, Brown said, is that it is impossible for people with full-time jobs to access public housing. This leads to people falling through the cracks, unable to afford private rents but not eligible for the limited space in public and community housing.

According to the , more than 15% of homeless people have paid employment.  that rents are unaffordable to those earning less than $130,000, which is far above the average and median wage.

Brown said governments should “look at who needs housing and where we can build it and just build it.

“Think about the response to disasters like the COVID-19 pandemic or Cyclone Alfred. They don’t count the pennies, they just spend what they need to. Housing is a disaster, so spend what you need to fix it … and in the meantime, stop demolishing.”

[Join the  at Redfern Community Centre on April 12 at 1pm.]