‘Partial privatisation’: Waterloo South public housing tenants say NSW Labor misled residents
After the Minns government won the New South Wales election, Norrie May-Welby finally invested in a mod con to her home that would seem humdrum to most: she bought new fly screens.
The government has confirmed a redevelopment will go ahead, with the state’s housing minister, Rose Jackson, telling Guardian Australia the details would be available after a tender to choose the developer was decided in the next two to three months.But in May after the election, the NSW Land Housing Corporation confirmed to a portion of tenants during consultation with the Indigenous community that residents would be temporarily relocated in stages while the redevelopment occurred.He said the government’s plan also seemed at odds with the spirit of a policy adopted at Labor’s conference last year that included legislating a moratorium on the future privatisation of public housing.In response to questions from Guardian Australia, Jackson said: “I totally understand the frustration and confusion surrounding Waterloo South for residents – there are timeframes that are out of our control but we are working hard to resolve our plan as quickly as possible.”“If the government isn’t sure about what the future of Waterloo is then the community deserves to know this – rather than being forced to decipher social media squares and unpick answers in question time about the demolition of their homes,” she said.