Merry Xmas, your home is being demolished. Cheers, Your Housing Minister

The letter sent to tenants at Lilyfield has found its way to DH, straight from the Brutalist School of Correspondence with the Lower Classes.

Charming, innit? ... No velvet gloves, polite phrases or Noble Lies need be wasted on the underclasses. No "Your tenancy is important to us. Terribly sorry for inconveniencing you "somewhat(!)". It must have left some tenants guessing how soon is "not immediately".

Just plain rude.

November 2006

Dear XXX

In order to provide improved public housing, the Department of Housing has decided to redevelop the property you are currently living in. I am writing to provide you with some initial information about what this means for you. You will not have to move immediately. The Department will meet with you to discuss your circumstances and make alternative arrangements for you.

Depending on your circumstances, you may be able to: •
· Move temporarily and return after the redevelopment is complete, or •
· Move permanently to another dwelling (in this or another area of your choice)

Client service staff from your local office will be in touch with you during the next two weeks to arrange to meet with you to discuss your specific needs. The Department aims to provide you with accommodation which is at least equal to the type and amenity of your current dwelling, taking your current circumstances into account. We would ask that you discuss any specific needs you may have with the staff member who meets with you.

The Department will pay for all reasonable relocation costs. I appreciate that the relocation process may cause you some inconvenience and disruption, and for this reason the Department
will be as flexible as is reasonably possible to find alternative accommodation which meets your present wishes and lifestyle. I am therefore confident that we will be able to provide you with accommodation which meets your needs.

It is the Department’s intention that you will not be financially disadvantaged by this relocation. All reasonable re-establishment costs will be paid for by the Department, and this includes: •
· Removalist costs •
· Telephone reconnection •
· Electricity reconnection •
· Gas reconnection •
· Mail redirection for 3 months.

In some instances, reimbursement for permanent improvements (which have been approved by the Department), and window coverings and light fittings will be approved (up to a reasonable amount), if not provided at the alternative accommodation. You should discuss any of these requests with the staff member who meets with you regarding your needs.

Necessary maintenance will continue to be carried out to your home. You should continue to request urgent maintenance from the Housing Contact Centre on 131571.

In order to commence the redevelopment, the Department may require access to the external areas of your property from time to time and your cooperation in this regard is appreciated. We will liaise with you when this is required. Access to the inside of your home is not likely to be
required.

I hope I have addressed some of your initial concerns, however if you have any further questions after today, you should contact your Client Service Officer in the first instance.


Yours sincerely …

etc…

Snooping around Lilyfield

The first DH heard about the proposed Lilyfield redevelopment was from someone at the Greens' stall at the Glebe Fair. The rather over-excited buzz was that the letters from the Ministers had gone out, the bulldozers were poised, the tenants were devastated, and some of them would be out before Christmas. DH had a moment of scepticism... hey that can't happen here, surely ... and sure enough, on closer questioning, it turned out that the letter hadn't quite said that, but the "person who delivered the letter" had, something a lot less verifiable.

Now DH did not want to go down in history as the Pastor Niemoller of Public Housing ... "When they came for Minto, I stayed silent, because I'm not a Westie, when they came for Bonnyrig, I stayed silent because I wasn't sure if Minto and Bonnyrig were the same place, when they came for Dubbo, I stayed silent because I'm not an Aboriginal, when they came for the Block the issues were too complex for my poor brain etc etc" , but Lilyfield was getting just a little bit close to home. Clearly what was needed was some research at ground zero, and thus it was that DH cd be spotted shortly thereafter snooping around the estate, taking pictures of what at first glance is a typical red brick 50's travesty. But a closer look reveals an unexpected and quite lovely oasis hidden away at the centre of the block.

More later about what she found out from the residents she managed to waylay, local politicians, and housing activists.

Snooping around Lilyfield, cont...

DH managed to speak to about 5 residents while prowling about. With 40 units slated for redevelopment, this in no way implies a valid sample of feeling on the estate as a whole.
However, of those 5, only 1 said they had any particular attachment to the place, or desire to return, and even that person was saying, "unless of course the temporary placement is better".

Housos are as rational as any other punters when it comes to real estate, and quite rightly are jockeying for the best home they can get for themeselves or their families. The others were keen to leave but only because their flats badly need maintenance. In the general climate of mistrust around razor-gang governments, property deals, and bungled policy, it is not surprising that there is a question hanging in the air: "Was the estate deliberately allowed to run down, so that the only option was to send in the bulldozers?". DH is not competent to judge, furthermore she is not lacking in trust, does not belong to that infantile brigade who profess to feel superior to "all pollies" from the comfort of their armchairs while making no attempt to test out their own unimpeachable ideals. ... Now seems like as good time as any to confess that she is a card-carrying member of the ALP, not because she is a true believer in "my party right or wrong" but because democracy relies on the active participation of its citizens.

That said, on with the fait accompli!

It seems that when Cherie Burton sent out her Big Announcement, she omitted to inform either the sitting member, Sandra Nori, or Verity Firth the incumbent candidate for the new seat of Balmain. Another less than impressive act from a Minister who is not making herself popular with her constituents. As a result, Verity Firth has been forced into damage control, door-knocking the distressed residents, doing her best to minimise their anxiety with the news that the Ministers' "oversight" put VF in a good bargaining position to extract a written guarantee that all who wanted to return could do so.

Can we trust her?

The activist brigade say, "Look at Minto. What good were written guarantees there? Dont be too trusting. The devil is in the detail. For instance, in Minto, yes, the stocks will be replenished, but they will be one bedroomers, so families can never return. Look for the hidden traps."

PURPLE ALERT!

Shameless editorialising follows. Enter at own peril.

DH thinks that is irrelevant. Times are going to get tougher for obvious reasons. Oil, weather, economics, the falling $USD, a horrid climate of resentment and downward envy, fomented by our Crypto-Darwinist-In-Chief, John Howard, who has turned too many of us into a nation of individualists, struggling each against each and devil-take-the-hindmost.

There are no guarantees apart from what tenants can collectively work towards ourselves.

There is only one thing tenants can trust in and that is in building our own strong and trusting communities. By getting involved with the political process, by continuing to inform ourselves and broaden our understanding, in the spirit of "expecting the best and preparing for the worst", we can support our politicians to be the best representatives they can be. This applies to almost everyone. The majority of tenants innately have the intelligence, even if it's buried under years of disempowerment. Give the right seeds, they can lift their game. And most politicians go into the game out of a genuine desire to do good. An active citizenry can help them to keep on track.

In the meantime, as far as DH has been able to find out, while the demolition plans are out, to date no design plan exists for rebuilding...