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ABC News
4 hours ago
- ABC News
Victorian government housing agency hires home-buyer as part of public housing demolition plans
The Victorian government's housing agency is hiring an internal home-buyer as it works to find new homes for residents displaced by its controversial plan to redevelop Melbourne's public housing towers. The successful candidate will work with Homes Victoria to identify properties that are suitable for leasing or purchase, "including bulk and off-the-plan purchases". They will also have a thorough understanding of the property market and transaction process, according to a job advertisement that closes tomorrow. Homes Victoria regularly purchases and leases properties to add to the state's social housing stock, but the job ad's mention of a "high priority Tower Relocations program" suggests acquisitions could scale up as the 44 towers are progressively retired over the next 25 years. While the move will likely help residents remain close to their existing communities, the government's critics say it could add more pressure to the strained property market. "Our concern is the government obviously has absolutely no plan for how they are going to house 10,000 people that they are relocating in the middle of a housing crisis," the Victorian Greens' housing spokesperson, Gabrielle de Vietri, said. "The government has said that it's simply too expensive for them to refurbish these public housing towers. "Yet what they are engaging in is an incredibly expensive and inefficient process of buying up and head-leasing private homes to move public housing residents into." The government has been under fire over the effect its plan to progressively redevelop the ageing towers, which generally house hundreds of people, will have on housing demand across the city. It is unclear how many private market homes could be required over the life of the plan, with many tenants likely to be moved into existing social housing properties. A Homes Victoria spokesperson declined to say how many private market homes would be required across the first three towers to be retired — in North Melbourne and Flemington — but the government has previously revealed four dwellings were leased and 16 dwellings purchased in surrounding suburbs in the first half of the year. It is understood the homes were acquired at market value. The Real Estate Institute of Victoria also said it was aware of a government initiative to purchase private dwellings for social housing, but its members had not reported any significant activity in that area. "Increasing supply through new builds is the most effective way to address affordability and availability over the long term," a spokesperson said. "However, we acknowledge that in some circumstances, the time frames associated with new developments may not meet urgent demand, and the use of existing stock may be a necessary interim measure." Meanwhile, the Victorian Greens say they were recently contacted by a constituent claiming a real estate agency working on behalf of the government had approached multiple owners in their inner-west Melbourne apartment block about potential sales. The movement comes as Melbourne's overburdened property market suffers from a citywide vacancy rate of 1.4 per cent, a near-record low according to property research body Cotality. Head of research Tim Lawless said additional demand against this backdrop of low supply would generally place upward pressure on rents and property prices in the inner-city suburbs where the towers were located. "I suppose from a positive perspective, it's good to see the state government looking after those tenants in government-owned properties and looking to relocate them," he said. "I think the challenge is actually going to be finding enough housing to ensure those people have a quality lifestyle and a reasonable level of comfort." The tower refurbishment plan is the focus of a current parliamentary inquiry that has heard evidence from distressed residents, legal centres and housing groups, as well as a resident-led class action that was dismissed but is currently being appealed. However, the government argues the ageing towers have reached the end of their useful life and do not meet modern standards of design, comfort and energy efficiency. It has promised to increase social housing by 10 per cent at each site when the estates are rebuilt, with a mix of social and private market housing. More than 55,500 households were waiting to enter public housing in March this year, while a further 10,500 existing tenants had applied for transfers.
Sydney Morning Herald
6 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
New CFMEU boss sets sights on housing amid cleanout and reset
A newly appointed CFMEU boss has vowed to launch a landmark blitz on the housing sector as the union seeks to rebuild its power across the nation, vowing he would not be deterred by bikie enforcers who seek to stop him. NSW executive director of the construction union Michael Crosby, who has overseen the departure of nine organisers from the union since he started late last month, set out a blueprint for the union's future at his first delegates meeting in Sydney on Friday, including extending its reach into non-unionised builders and cracking down on non-compliance across the state. His nascent effort to counter sapping morale and a plunge in the CFMEU's industrial power as the Building Bad saga drags on is being replicated by Crosby's Victorian counterpart, Zach Smith, although the challenge is arguably far greater in what was the union's most powerful state for over a decade. Smith's branch is riven with factionalism and ongoing efforts by exiled CFMEU bosses to assert influence, and while both the Victoria and NSW branches have faced significant organised crime and corruption issues, the problem is seen as more entrenched in Victoria. On a recent visit to a Victorian government Big Build site, Smith was met with union members chanting in support of ousted CFMEU vice president Joe Myles. Despite Myles' sacking from the union last year and being part of the ongoing internal investigations over bikie gangs on the Victorian government's Big Build, he retains the support of several delegates and organisers ostensibly working for Smith. Smith's strong backing this week of two veteran CFMEU organisers, John Perkovic and Stephen Long, has also been met with a mixed reception within the union, with the pair previously deeply embedded with the union's former regime that fostered a culture the administration now wants to reform. This masthead is not suggesting that Perkovic and Long have been accused of wrongdoing or are under investigation. Industry sources said Perkovic had convinced Smith he was committed to the reform of the union and is loyal to Smith's leadership.
The Age
6 hours ago
- The Age
New CFMEU boss sets sights on housing amid cleanout and reset
A newly appointed CFMEU boss has vowed to launch a landmark blitz on the housing sector as the union seeks to rebuild its power across the nation, vowing he would not be deterred by bikie enforcers who seek to stop him. NSW executive director of the construction union Michael Crosby, who has overseen the departure of nine organisers from the union since he started late last month, set out a blueprint for the union's future at his first delegates meeting in Sydney on Friday, including extending its reach into non-unionised builders and cracking down on non-compliance across the state. His nascent effort to counter sapping morale and a plunge in the CFMEU's industrial power as the Building Bad saga drags on is being replicated by Crosby's Victorian counterpart, Zach Smith, although the challenge is arguably far greater in what was the union's most powerful state for over a decade. Smith's branch is riven with factionalism and ongoing efforts by exiled CFMEU bosses to assert influence, and while both the Victoria and NSW branches have faced significant organised crime and corruption issues, the problem is seen as more entrenched in Victoria. On a recent visit to a Victorian government Big Build site, Smith was met with union members chanting in support of ousted CFMEU vice president Joe Myles. Despite Myles' sacking from the union last year and being part of the ongoing internal investigations over bikie gangs on the Victorian government's Big Build, he retains the support of several delegates and organisers ostensibly working for Smith. Smith's strong backing this week of two veteran CFMEU organisers, John Perkovic and Stephen Long, has also been met with a mixed reception within the union, with the pair previously deeply embedded with the union's former regime that fostered a culture the administration now wants to reform. This masthead is not suggesting that Perkovic and Long have been accused of wrongdoing or are under investigation. Industry sources said Perkovic had convinced Smith he was committed to the reform of the union and is loyal to Smith's leadership.
