Wednesday, 4 October 2023

 Gabrielle DE VIETRI (Richmond) (19:16): (359) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Development Victoria, and the action I seek is to urgently stop the sell-off of public land to private developers at the Fitzroy gasworks. Before the last two state elections this Victorian Labor government promised public, social and affordable housing on this vacant government land. Now, in the throes of a worsening housing crisis, this Labor government is planning to sell off this land – the entire remaining site, almost 3 hectares of public land – to private developers. The public housing has been scrapped and the social housing scrapped – in its place are over 1000 expensive private apartments. The small number of private, so-called affordable units are still not guaranteed, but if there are any to speak of, it will be up to the developer to define what ‘affordable’ means. If this government’s own definition of ‘affordable’ is anything to go by, that could literally mean no more than market rate. In Fitzroy the market rate is $500,000 for a one-bedroom apartment. No-one can afford that.

Over 500 residents nearby have joined together in a campaign to stop the Labor government’s plan to hand over the Fitzroy gasworks to private developers. They know that there is a huge housing crisis, and they can see that the government’s plan will only make things worse. This government has finally acknowledged that there is a housing crisis. That is great, but why is it pressing ahead with the plan to sell off this land? We do not need more expensive apartments for property investors to slap onto Airbnb. We need public housing to make sure every Victorian has a safe place to call home. Minister, I am urging you to stop the sale of public land to private developers at the Fitzroy gasworks and build public housing on public land.