Public housing tenants, led by the Waterloo Public Housing Action Group (WPHAG) and with the support of the Redfern-Waterloo Aboriginal community, have set up a tent embassy at Waterloo Green to resist the destruction of their homes and their community. The Embassy is supported by Aboriginal elder Jenny Munro who led the successful embassy at the Block in Redfern.
WPHAG spokesperson Richard Weeks said: “We plan to stay out in the cold by day and in tents by night to bring attention to the plight of Waterloo public housing tenants who are being forcibly and unjustly evicted from homes many of them have lived in for 30 years.
“These evictions and the threat of evictions to come are causing distress, anxiety and sickness. We know that relocating the elderly and the poor can seriously damage their health and well-being.
“It also destroys local communities which are essential for so many residents' emotional and physical health and quality of life. Local small businesses which have served these communities for so long are also destroyed by the wanton destruction of public housing estates.
“The Liberals claim to be good financial planners but the Baird Government's plan for our homes is full of waste. The Waterloo towers have a life of at least another 30 years. Investment in refurbishment and good maintenance would be cheaper and more effective than their planned destruction.
“We intend to stay at the Waterloo Embassy to show how ruthless and destructive the Liberal Government of NSW and its big brother the Federal Liberals are.”
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