Public housing residents file class action against govt

Public housing residents in Victoria have launched a class action against the state government in a bid to stop their homes being demolished and rebuilt.

Some 44 public housing towers are set to be redeveloped by 2051, but the residents suing the state government claim their human rights were not properly considered.

Inner Melbourne Community Legal filed a statement of claim in the Supreme court on Thursday, with the firm calling for the redevelopment plan to be paused and reconsidered.

Towers located in the inner suburbs of Flemington, North Melbourne and Carlton are set to be the first to go.

Lead plaintiff Barry Berih said he and others affected had not been consulted about the decision and it had taken an “emotional and physical toll”.

“We are still being kept in the dark,” Berih said.

“The government keeps telling public housing residents that they have plans, but they still haven’t told us what the plans are.

“I don’t know where I am going to be living or where I might end up, and the government isn’t giving us the information we need to make decisions.”

Inner Melbourne Community Legal’s chief executive Elisa Buggy alleged the relocation process lacked fairness and her organisation had received contradictory information, making it difficult to give accurate legal advice.

“Public housing residents have human rights, too,” Buggy said.

“The right to live free from arbitrary or unlawful interference with home and with family, the right to have families protected, the right to have the best interests of children be protected, property rights, and the right to security.”

The decision to redevelop the towers was unveiled in September 2023 by former Premier Daniel Andrews as part of the plan to build 800,000 homes in the next decade.

It’s the second time Berih has been involved in a class action against the state government.

The first related to thousands of residents living in high-rise towers who were forced into a sudden COVID-19 lockdown during 2020 in an effort to stop an outbreak of the virus.

The Victorian government has been contacted for comment.

– AAP