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Sunshine Residents & Ratepayers Association |
Why not visit the SunRRA public library?
As well as its influential front page articles, SunRRA has published a range of materials on local issues of state significance. This includes our series of podcasts and monographs.
Go to our podcasting page to review the audio podcasts, or visit the monographs page to read the latest up to date information.
Stay informed. Open your eyes to local issues. Visit the SunRRA public library. |
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The Fight for Sunshine's Future begins! |
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Monday, 14 December 2009 |
 Sunshine residents live in a tolerant and inclusive community. This is evidenced by the peaceful and harmonious way the community has and continues to integrate in our community the many waves of people migrating and resettling in the area over the decades.
These new arrivals have been coming in large numbers to Sunshine because of its affordable public and private housing which sat alongside jobs in the manufacturing and in new industry sectors. Many people have aspired to a better life for their families in more affluent suburbs and have moved on as their circumstances changed.
Sunshine residents have also lived with and supported the most disadvantaged of people and the most vulnerable of families for decades. And in big numbers. The community and its clubs, interest groups, churches and social networks have actively supported people and families living in public housing complexes and in low cost private rental housing as a matter of course. Sunshine has been and remains one of Melbourne’s social housing meccas despite official statistics claiming otherwise. Social housing in appropriate public and private models that is well supported with additional services is highly valued.
Irate Sunshine residents are however gathering en masse to protest against the tide of inappropriate social housing projects being planned for the suburb by members of the Brumby government.
Social housing projects that:
· pay no respect to the entrenched levels of existing socio economic disadvantage in the area;
· pay no respect to the history of the area where large public housing complexes have been demolished after proving social disasters;
· pay no respect to the existing chronic under provision of health, education, recreation, leisure, transport, police and community services;
· pay no respect to the high levels of affordable private rental housing stock already being utilized by those being targeted for social housing;
· pays no respect to the high numbers of people and families already living in Sunshine who would be eligible for inclusion on social housing programs;
· pay no respect to the Sunshine community’s aspirations and desires to create a healthy liveable future in Sunshine for its children and
· pays no respect to the community’s desire to break out of the inter generational cycles of entrenched neglect it has experienced for decades.
Federal government homelessness policy, Nation Building Stimulus cash and underdeveloped project assessment criteria are now all being used to recreate failed public housing experiments that have been previously torn down in the western suburbs of Melbourne and other parts of Australia, due to the entrenched disadvantage they are known to create.
Planning processes and community consultation and engagement processes are being abused By Planning Minister Justin Madden in pursuit of Kevin Rudd’s Nation Building goals to stimulate an already over stimulated economy. Interest rate rises are becoming a regular occurrence for sunshine people as the Reserve Bank attempts to slow activity.
The Victorian Parliament has been full of debate about complaints from communities all over Melbourne wanting proper consultation and input to poorly planned and inappropriate social housing proposals.
It is SunRRA’s considered opinion that the Victorian government departments implementing the Nation Building Stimulus program DPCD and DHS seem to not be talking.
DPCD is talking to the Brimbank Council and seeking its views on the proposal from Sunshine RSL / Baulderstone / Women’s Housing Inc. to cram 30 social housing units onto a site the size of 4 housing blocks and backing onto a licensed gaming venue.
Brimbank Council on 18 November 2009 recommended to DPCD and the Minister Justin Madden that the application be REJECTED. Further Council assessment of traffic management plans and other Council policies has reinforced the position that this application has a set of significant non compliance issues. The Council position prior to assessing the proposed traffic management plan is summarized as follows:
”...On the basis of the application failing to comply with the State and Local Planning Policy Frameworks, and being generally inconsistent with important aspects of the ResCode objectives, it is considered the proposed development will result in a poor urban design outcome, and be of poor functional and aesthetic quality...”
http://www.brimbank.vic.gov.au/Page/Page.asp?Page_Id=2469&h=1
DHS however has written to local residents on 9 December 2009 completely ignoring the Brimbank Council advice to DPCD and stating that:
"... the development as proposed, through the quality of the built form, integration with its surrounds, management model and support services provides an excellent model of integrated social housing in the community, appropriate for individual and community wellbeing..."
http://www.sunshine.asn.au/component/option,com_remository/Itemid,46/func,fileinfo/id,237/
As a consequence of this incompetent administration of the process, SunRRA has no confidence in the internal procedures DHS is using to assess social housing applications – now or in the future.
SunRRA is requesting local MPs to arrange urgent community meetings with the area’s Federal MP Bill Shorten, relevant state Ministers for Planning, Housing and Community Services and departmental officials to ensure the Sunshine community can continue to strive to break out of its entrenched cycle of disadvantage rather than be put into a further downward spiral.
Readers should note that in the marginal seat of Melbourne local MP Bronwyn Pike (ALP) knows the future impact and downsides a badly planned social housing development can have on the suburb of North Melbourne and how it can influence voters at the upcoming State elections. She was that concerned she called an “invite only” community meeting with Housing Minister Dick Wynne and DPCD and DHS officials.
http://moonee-valley-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/north-melbourne-ghetto-bid-stirs-storm1/
http://www.sunshine.asn.au/component/option,com_remository/Itemid,46/func,fileinfo/id,236/
A future concern for Sunshine residents is the proposed Marketplace Towers project where HomeGroup, an American social housing provider, is planning to cram one hundred and fifty six one-room apartments into a single nine-storey tower on a supermarket car park with little supporting community infrastructure. This proposal flies in the face of the community’s historical knowledge of what happens to people living in high rise social housing without proper supporting services in the community.
Another planned enclave of two hundred substandard dwellings in a current industrial area has attracted the title “future ghetto”.
Brimbank Council is currently developing a Housing Strategy that includes a social housing component. The Community has yet to hear about its purpose and likely impacts.
The Federal and state government’s social housing policy frameworks and the Council’s translation of them into its Housing Strategy is a big ticket issue for our community’s future aspirations and liveability.
The Sunshine community has always lived with this issue on its front doorstep and it knows it well. In recent times the politically driven entrenched neglect of our suburb has reached tipping point.
The Sunshine community now firmly aspires to break the inter generational cycles of entrenched neglect. It is demanding of all levels of government a healthy, liveable and sustainable future.
Any inappropriate development of our area will be fought to the end for we are not going to allow our children and their children’s children to be neglected in the same way we and our forebears have.
The Fight for Sunshine’s Future has begun and appropriate Social Housing is the next battle. |
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SunRRA Articles 
OMBUDSMAN VICTORIA ANNUAL REPORT 2009-10 – Part I