By Samantha Ratnam, Victorian MLC for Northern Metro, Candidate for Wills
When I first arrived in Victorian state parliament in 2017, Labor had just announced what we now know to be the precursor for their real agenda: a complete retreat from public housing.
Their 'Public Housing Renewal Program' planned to demolish 10 low-rise public housing sites across Melbourne, give the majority of the land to developers for private housing, with a minimum amount of community housing rebuilt on the remaining land.
Local Councils were stripped of any decision making power and local communities were left shocked by the arrogance of a government intent on breaking up public housing communities.
Fast forward 7 years and as I prepare to leave state parliament to contest the seat of Wills, in the upcoming federal election, Labor has announced the next phase of their public housing destruction plans. A proposal to tear down all 44 public housing high rise towers across Victoria, privatise the majority of the land, and replace public housing with community housing.
