tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/sirius-building-35210/articlesSirius building – The Conversation2017-10-26T19:10:12Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/857542017-10-26T19:10:12Z2017-10-26T19:10:12ZLast of the Millers Point and Sirius tenants hang on as the money now pours in<p>The Millers Point and Sirius building tenants’ long, hard struggle against eviction from their inner Sydney community is reaching a critical point. On September 21, <a href="http://www.housing.nsw.gov.au/about-us">Housing NSW</a> provided the <a href="http://millerspointcommunity.com.au/seven-minutes-to-midnight/">following statistics</a> to the Millers Point Estates Advisory Board: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>only seven residents in four tenancies have yet to commit to moving</p></li>
<li><p>12 tenants in nine tenancies have not yet moved, but have signed an agreement and are committed to moving in the next few days or weeks</p></li>
<li><p>only one tenant is left in the 79-apartment Sirius building – Myra Demetriou, who is 90 and legally blind. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>In sum, at the time of writing, 572 of the 579 public housing tenants in Millers Point, Dawes Point and the Sirius building, who were told on March 19, 2014, that they would have to relocate within two years, have left their homes or are about to.</p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Further reading:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/sydney-public-housing-evictions-a-policy-success-only-if-you-ignore-the-high-human-cost-78994">Sydney public housing evictions a policy success? Only if you ignore the high human cost</a></em></p>
<hr>
<h2>Starved of funding, then wealthy</h2>
<p>The sale of the public homes in Millers Point is in full swing. By mid-October 2017, the government had sold 159 public homes on the private market. These sales have netted the government A$492 million ($467.5 million in sales and $24.8 million in stamp duty). </p>
<p>The area has become the domain of extremely wealthy households. The median price for the 159 sales is <a href="https://rediscovermillerspoint.com.au/property/">$2.39 million</a>. <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/in-millers+point%2C+nsw+2000/list-1">Recent sales</a> include a three-bedroom home with one bathroom for $3,561,000 and a five-bedroom terrace for $5,0050,000. </p>
<p>If the present trend continues the Millers Point sales can be expected to net around $600 million. Another 67 properties (comprising 26 sales) <a href="https://rediscovermillerspoint.com.au/property/">remain to be sold</a>.</p>
<p>After years of neglect, many of the turn-of-the-century apartments, which the Sydney Harbour Trust built for waterfront workers and handed over to the Department of Housing in the mid-1980s, are being repaired and smartened up for sale. <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/pVx9a5I46e5rCJGaMsUh/full">Tenants interviewed told</a> how their requests for maintenance were ignored for years, leading to serious deterioration. </p>
<p>Barney Gardner, who was born in Millers Point and is convenor of the Millers Point, Dawes Point and The Rocks Public Housing Tenants Group, described the government’s behaviour as “criminal”. His home had deteriorated significantly in the 27 years he was resident. Despite repeated requests, Housing NSW refused to fix the leaks, rising damp and mould, Gardner said.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>They told us that they didn’t have the money to repair the homes but they certainly have the money now. They waited until we were forced out of our homes before they started fixing them up. That’s criminal.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191935/original/file-20171026-28030-1yfof3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191935/original/file-20171026-28030-1yfof3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191935/original/file-20171026-28030-1yfof3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=288&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191935/original/file-20171026-28030-1yfof3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=288&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191935/original/file-20171026-28030-1yfof3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=288&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191935/original/file-20171026-28030-1yfof3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191935/original/file-20171026-28030-1yfof3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191935/original/file-20171026-28030-1yfof3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">From a state of disrepair to repairs in Millers Point.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alan Morris</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Ex-tenants are also affronted by the fact that many of the homes that have been sold are empty, rented out or being used for Airbnb. Kent Street, one of the main roads running through Millers Point, has been renamed Rent Street by ex-tenants.</p>
<h2>Can the Sirius survive?</h2>
<p>The $600 million sales figure does not include the Sirius building. Its predicted selling price is at least $100 million. </p>
<p>When the minister refused to accept the Heritage Council’s unanimous recommendation that Sirius be declared a heritage building, he <a href="https://www.commercialrealestate.com.au/news/sydneys-sirius-building-sore-thumb-to-be-sold-after-state-rejects-heritage-listing/">said</a> that a heritage listing would reduce the sale price by $70 million.</p>
<p>Unlike Millers Point properties, the Sirius building has not been put on the market. The sale of Sirius was <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/the-sirius-building-to-remain-standing-after-court-rules-against-nsw-government-20170725-gxibsq.html">slowed down by a judgment</a> delivered in the Land and Environment Court on July 25, 2017.</p>
<p>In a case brought by the Millers Point Community Association, the judge <a href="https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/5976c0a7e4b074a7c6e176a0">found that</a>, in deciding not to follow the Heritage Council’s recommendation to declare Sirius a heritage building, the then-environment minister made two serious procedural errors: “by misdirecting himself as to the proper meaning of the words ‘…would cause undue financial hardship to the owner…’,” and “did fail … to make a tentative or preliminary determination as to whether Sirius is of state heritage significance, and, in so doing, failed to discharge his statutory duty”.</p>
<p>These errors rendered the decision invalid.</p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Further reading:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/saving-sirius-why-heritage-protection-should-include-social-housing-81670">Saving Sirius: why heritage protection should include social housing</a></em></p>
<hr>
<p>In another positive development in the campaign to save Sirius for public housing, the building was recently added to the World Monuments Fund’s 2018 watchlist. The organisation has <a href="http://mailchi.mp/saveoursirius/sirius-on-world-monument-watch-invite-to-our-book-launch?e=bd72e85787">called on</a> the New South Wales government to “respect the recommendation of its heritage experts and allow its citizens to maintain an important social legacy”.</p>
<p>Despite the expert opinions, on October 25 the environment minister, Gabrielle Upton, again refused to grant Sirius heritage status. She <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/sirius-demolition-one-step-closer-as-state-government-declines-to-grant-heritage-status-20171025-gz7u90.html">said</a> the government plans to sell the building to a private developer who will be able to demolish Sirius. </p>
<p>In response, Save our Sirius chairperson Shaun Carter <a href="http://saveoursirius.org/blog/2017/10/25/press-release-reckless-out-of-touch-government-not-listening-to-the-people-or-experts/">said</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Let’s be clear about this. It is a decision based on a massive development play – 250 apartments on this site where only 79 now sit – and it’s part of the current government’s cultural war to get rid of a building they see as a symbol of the left. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>We are talking here about an apartment block <a href="https://theconversation.com/saving-sirius-why-heritage-protection-should-include-social-housing-81670">built specifically for public housing</a> tenants, in good condition and recommended for heritage listing. To its credit, the Labor opposition has <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/the-sirius-building-to-remain-standing-after-court-rules-against-nsw-government-20170725-gxibsq.html">pledged to retain</a> the Sirius building and <a href="http://www.theherald.com.au/story/4570047/sell-off-of-public-housing-at-millers-point-a-real-tragedy/?cs=3968">all unsold Millers Point properties</a> for social housing. </p>
<p>As the state election nears, perhaps the government might conclude that selling the building to a developer who will demolish it to build exceptionally costly apartments is a bridge too far. </p>
<h2>An act of ‘communicide’</h2>
<p>The government may be patting itself on the back for generating hundreds of millions of dollars by displacing the public housing tenants in Millers Point and Sirius. </p>
<p>However, I would argue that what has occurred is an act of “communicide” – the planned, deliberate and irreversible destruction of a historic community. </p>
<p>The displacement and sell-off represent what <a href="http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/09513570510620475">Dillard and Ruchala</a> have called “administrative evil”. They argue that in a policy context premised on administrative evil, the primary focus is on revenue and expenditure. The human costs of policymaking are pushed to the side.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/85754/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alan Morris does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>All but a handful of the former public housing tenants are gone. But despite the government again rejecting the recommended heritage listing of the Sirius building, the fight to save it isn’t over.Alan Morris, Research Professor, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/816702017-07-27T20:16:43Z2017-07-27T20:16:43ZSaving Sirius: why heritage protection should include social housing<p>Campaigners to save Sydney’s landmark <a href="http://saveoursirius.org/">Sirius building</a> from demolition had a significant <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-25/sirius-heritage-decision-ruled-invalid/8741094">legal win</a> this week. </p>
<p>Last year, the then state heritage minister, Mark Speakman, refused to list the Brutalist block of public housing apartments on the New South Wales Heritage Register. Doing so would reduce the amount that the government, as its owner, might make from selling it. Now the NSW Land and Environment Court has <a href="https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/5976c0a7e4b074a7c6e176a0">ruled</a> that the decision is invalid and must be remade.</p>
<p>This does not mean Sirius is now heritage-listed, let alone safe from demolition. Heritage Minister Gabrielle Upton could still decide not to list the building, but she will have to make her decision according to the requirements of the Heritage Act.</p>
<p>Still, it is an important decision on how our heritage is protected at law, and it is fitting that Sirius should be the subject of it. In a sense, this building and the Heritage Act were born from the same event: the <a href="https://theconversation.com/speaking-with-nicole-cook-on-union-green-bans-housing-affordability-and-the-sirius-building-71619">Green Ban movement</a> of the 1970s, in which Jack Mundey’s Builders Labourers’ Federation (BLF) acted, on the advice of local residents and the National Trust, to prevent development that threatened significant sites and housing, mostly famously at The Rocks. </p>
<p>The Green Bans there were lifted when the state government agreed to “the people’s plan” put forward by residents and the BLF to preserve the built fabric and provide low-income housing in the area. The result was Sirius, which was completed in 1980. And the wider result was statutory heritage protection, in the form of the Heritage Act.</p>
<p>The heritage significance of Sirius lies both in its striking architectural form and in its connection to that remarkable period in Sydney’s social history. Aside from Sirius’s own significance, the case prompts us to consider how heritage is protected, and how <a href="https://shelternsw.org.au/publications/urban-policy-planning/heritage-and-social-housing-shelter-brief-no-54">social housing</a> fits in.</p>
<h2>What is heritage?</h2>
<p>When we talk about “heritage” values, it may mean a range of things, from the speaker’s opinion that something is worth keeping, to its status under the several legal regimes to protect heritage. </p>
<p>Aside from the law, heritage management is based on a body of principles and best practice. The principal statement of these is the <a href="http://australia.icomos.org/publications/charters/">Burra Charter</a>. It informs the practices of conscientious owners, building professionals, and heritage consultants.</p>
<p>In both law and practice, the focus is on protecting an item’s “heritage significance”. The Burra Charter refers this to synonymously with “cultural significance”, defined as “aesthetic, historic, scientific, social or spiritual value for past, present or future generations”.</p>
<p>This significance may vary by degree (“exceptional” or “outstanding” significance, for instance) and by extent. An item may be significant for a local community, a state, a nation, or all of humanity. </p>
<p>This is reflected in the different legal regimes for heritage protection at all three levels of government in Australia – local government, states and territories (each has its own, broadly similar legislation), and the Commonwealth – and the <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/">World Heritage regime</a>.</p>
<h2>Where does social housing fit in?</h2>
<p>Social housing can certainly have heritage significance. We have been building it in Australia for more than 100 years, and its design and construction have been shaped by contemporary architectural and political ideas, sometimes in an exemplary way.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179927/original/file-20170727-22117-171sawh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179927/original/file-20170727-22117-171sawh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179927/original/file-20170727-22117-171sawh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179927/original/file-20170727-22117-171sawh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179927/original/file-20170727-22117-171sawh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179927/original/file-20170727-22117-171sawh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=733&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179927/original/file-20170727-22117-171sawh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=733&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179927/original/file-20170727-22117-171sawh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=733&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One of the six Berlin Modernism Housing Estates protected by World Heritage listing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Modernism_Housing_Estates#/media/File:Berlin_C_Legien_Trachtenbrodtstr_20.jpg">Doris Antony/Wikipedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Depending on the degree and extent of its significance, a social housing building or place could come under any of the Australian or international legal regimes. The World Heritage Register includes social housing – the <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1239">Berlin Modernism Housing Estates</a>. No social housing from Australia has been nominated for that list, nor for the <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/national-heritage-list">National Heritage List</a>.</p>
<p>The Sirius case is about the state-level heritage regime. If Sirius were listed on the NSW Heritage Register, it would not be the first social housing to be listed. Sirius’s neighbour, the row of terrace houses at <a href="https://www.mcgrath.com.au/sold/propertytype/state/area/suburb/352202">Gloucester Street, The Rocks</a>, is listed, along with all of Millers Point. This includes 214 properties – an extraordinary mix of <a href="http://millerspointcommunity.com.au/the-place/">Georgian mansions, Victorian terraces</a> and <a href="http://millerspointcommunity.com.au/saving-the-workers-flats/">early 20th-century workers flats</a>.</p>
<p>For many years these properties provided social housing, which is an acknowledged part of their significance. The state government has decided all these properties <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-moving-out-public-housing-tenants-is-a-tragedy-for-millers-point-and-for-sydney-64363">will no longer be used as social housing</a>. They are being sold off, but remain on the NSW Heritage Register.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179914/original/file-20170727-28585-t59quw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179914/original/file-20170727-28585-t59quw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179914/original/file-20170727-28585-t59quw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179914/original/file-20170727-28585-t59quw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179914/original/file-20170727-28585-t59quw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179914/original/file-20170727-28585-t59quw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179914/original/file-20170727-28585-t59quw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179914/original/file-20170727-28585-t59quw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The NSW Heritage Register lists all of Millers Point, 214 properties in all, including this Georgian building.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/50415738@N04/7889967176/in/photolist-sop5wh-SbBYwC-jRZ6Y6-d2d9mQ-SbBZYf-pzavfa-sQYnGV-teEZZ8">sv1ambo/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Listing isn’t a blanket protection</h2>
<p>The Heritage Act does not prevent a listed property being sold, or new occupants moving in. Generally, it prohibits development of the property without prior approval of the relevant authority (usually a local council) and the Heritage Council, a statutory office established by the act. The process involves public submissions and consideration of any effects on heritage significance.</p>
<p>The act sets a high threshold for demolitions: these will be refused unless the item poses a danger. It also imposes a positive obligation to maintain and repair to minimum standards – preventing “demolition by neglect” – and provides for conservation management plans as a way of getting works approved and encouraging best practice.</p>
<p>There are some exceptions to the general processes of the Act. Notably, if the government declares a “state significant development”, the consent authority is the planning minister – the Heritage Council’s approval is not required.</p>
<p>Large developments (above A$10 million) in The Rocks are state significant development – so even if listed, Sirius might not be completely safe.</p>
<h2>Many properties have local significance</h2>
<p>Many more social housing properties are on local heritage registers in NSW. Some are part of “heritage conservation areas”, which cover all properties in a street or suburb of local heritage significance. </p>
<p>One example is the <a href="http://www.botanybay.nsw.gov.au/Planning-Business/Heritage/Heritage-Conservation-in-Botany-Bay">Daceyville estate</a>, the first purpose-built public housing in Australia. Another is the <a href="http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/heritageapp/ViewHeritageItemDetails.aspx?ID=2421506">Woolloomooloo estate</a>, which includes Victorian terraces acquired and renewed as social housing in the 1970s. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179921/original/file-20170727-24072-gqhdi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179921/original/file-20170727-24072-gqhdi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179921/original/file-20170727-24072-gqhdi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=259&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179921/original/file-20170727-24072-gqhdi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=259&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179921/original/file-20170727-24072-gqhdi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=259&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179921/original/file-20170727-24072-gqhdi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=325&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179921/original/file-20170727-24072-gqhdi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=325&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179921/original/file-20170727-24072-gqhdi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=325&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Daceyville estate, pictured in 1915, is heritage-listed as the first purpose-built public housing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/statelibraryofnsw/4880551617/in/photolist-8rh6XF-4b49C3-fwyoj4-94rZeV-cb9CQU-cb9EXs-cb9sgY-cb9rHq-cb9J7f-cb9HJU-cb9MCY-cb9viy-cb98Mj-cb8ZBE-cb9M1U-cb9qnQ-cb9FuN-cb9vX1-cb9NgA-cb9MME-cb9JVQ-cb8Ys3-cb99sL-cb91dS-cb9JPS-6KvAJ1-6KrtdV-qLmgMH-RXA3vT-6KrsYD-6KrsU4-bofD8A-6KrsXg-S9vTwr-cAQRi-JQmVN-6KvAuo-6KvAKA-6KvABW-omdJpr-6Krt2R-6KvADJ-6Krt8n-6hS9PV-r3GgJL-6hSaAR-6KvAyU-6hWj4W-JQmVQ-6hSaJv">State Library of NSW/flickr</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some properties are listed individually. Examples include Chippendale’s <a href="http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/heritageapp/ViewHeritageItemDetails.aspx?ID=2420437">Strickland Flats</a>, the first public housing flats in Australia, and a collection of <a href="http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/heritageapp/ViewHeritageItemDetails.aspx?ID=2240400">post-war cottages in South Granville</a>.</p>
<p>Local councils make these listings under their local environmental plans. Generally, the property may be altered or demolished only with the council’s prior consent. Some minor developments may not require the full consent process. </p>
<p>In the case of NSW public housing, however, <a href="https://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/#/view/EPI/2009/364/part2/div6/cl40">special provisions</a> allow for a much wider range of development activities on local heritage-listed properties and conservation areas without local consent. This includes the construction of multi-dwelling buildings. Demolitions, however, cannot be carried out without consent.</p>
<p>In terms of practice, heritage conservation management is something that social housing providers should do well, considering their scale, long-term property holding and access to expertise. Even their frugality may be an advantage: as the Burra Charter notes: “the best conservation often involves the least work and can be inexpensive”. </p>
<p>However, as social housing renewal moves up governments’ agenda, sound legal protections and decision-making processes are also required.</p>
<p>Sirius has a less famous sibling, “<a href="http://www.imgrum.org/media/1203945333700424408_2252098323">The Laurels</a>”, a low-rise block of modular apartments in suburban San Souci. It is not listed on any heritage register. Perhaps it should be.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/81670/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Martin receives funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI).
This article draws on research conducted for Shelter NSW.</span></em></p>Social housing can certainly have heritage significance. Over more than 100 years, it has been shaped by contemporary architectural and political ideas, sometimes in an exemplary way.Chris Martin, Research Fellow, City Housing, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/789942017-06-12T19:57:17Z2017-06-12T19:57:17ZSydney public housing evictions a policy success? Only if you ignore the high human cost<p>Three years after New South Wales’ housing minister <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/sydney-waterfront-public-housing-properties-to-be-sold-off-20140319-351fs.html">announced</a> that all 579 public housing tenants in Millers Point, Dawes Point and the Sirius Building would be moved within two years and their homes sold, only 24 tenants are still resisting the move. So far, 151 properties have been sold for <a href="http://tunswblog.blogspot.com.au/2017/05/it-was-like-leaving-your-family.html">A$400.89 million</a>, with a median sale price of $2.44 million. </p>
<p>The NSW government would argue that these statistics indicate the displacement has been a great success. But, drawing on 40 in-depth interviews I conducted with tenants, the displacement has been a monumental policy failure on various levels.</p>
<p>Let’s begin with the justifications for the displacement. The NSW government’s main justifications were that the homes were expensive to maintain and that the escalation of house prices in Millers Point represented an opportunity to raise $500 million that would be used to build 1,500 additional social <a href="https://www.property.nsw.gov.au/millers-point-0">housing dwellings</a>.</p>
<p>Tenants interviewed were adamant that maintenance was negligible. Many spoke about maintenance requests being ignored or the work done being so shoddy that the problem was not fixed or promptly recurred. Many felt that a deliberate policy of neglect had been one of the key strategies to encourage tenants to move. </p>
<h2>Doing the sums</h2>
<p>The high cost of maintenance certainly cannot be used to justify the planned sell-off and <a href="https://theconversation.com/in-praise-of-the-sirius-building-a-ruined-remnant-of-idealistic-times-63387">destruction of the Sirius Building</a>. </p>
<p>The age and concrete structure of the building mean that the maintenance costs per unit are probably lower than for many other public housing complexes. It is 35 years old – the average age of social housing properties in NSW is 45 years – and in good physical condition.</p>
<p>The government’s promise to use the sale proceeds to build 1,500 social housing homes has been its central justification for the displacement. On the surface, this appears reasonable. However, there are a several issues with this argument. </p>
<p>First, the actual number of additional homes will be closer to 1,100 as at least 400 homes have been lost in Millers Point and the Sirius Building. </p>
<p>Second, tenants posed the obvious question: why should public housing be financed by the sale of public housing? The massive increase in house prices in Sydney has resulted in a <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/boom-bolsters-berejiklians-bottom-line-20170129-gu0vvu.html">stamp-duty bonanza</a> for the NSW government – around A$9 billion in the 2016-17 financial year.</p>
<p>The government is awash with cash. A <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-13/nsw-treasurer-to-deliver-$4b-surplus-in-budget-update/8114608">surplus of around $4 billion</a> is predicted for this financial year. Surely some of this money could have been used to reduce the scandalous public housing <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-06/public-housing-sitting-empty-as-nsw-waiting-list-grows/8328628">waiting list of more than 60,000 people</a>.</p>
<p>Another question tenants raised was: why the rush? Why was it necessary to sell all the homes as soon as possible? It is highly likely that property prices in the area, within walking distance of the Sydney Opera House, will continue to increase.</p>
<p>If we accept this proposition, then the government could have compromised. It could have allowed tenants who were vehemently opposed to moving to stay, and sold off the homes of tenants who did not mind relocating.</p>
<h2>‘Like leaving your family’</h2>
<p>The main argument against the displacement is not so much the questionable financial justifications, but the devastating human cost. </p>
<p>Although some tenants were happy to move, the removal process and subsequent displacement has been traumatic for many. Tenants who had strong social ties in Millers Point and Sirius have been moved to areas where they know no one. </p>
<p>I interviewed a tenant who was moved out when he was 90. In the Sirius Building he knew a couple of people and his fellow tenants looked out for him. In his present housing complex he is totally isolated. </p>
<p>Another tenant interviewed was 85 when he was moved. He said that leaving Millers Point “was like leaving your family”.</p>
<p>The actual removal process was seriously flawed. Tenants were aghast that it was to be a blanket removal – those who were born in the area, were frail or had lived in the area for most their lives were to be forced out. Tenants had no choice but to move. </p>
<p>They were told that if they did not accept two “formal offers” of alternative accommodation, their public housing status would be terminated. This would have rendered most tenants homeless.</p>
<p>The total lack of consultation was particularly unfortunate. Tenants had no warning prior to the announcement. After making the announcement, the minister responsible, Pru Goward, refused to meet the residents. Her successor, Gabrielle Upton, also ignored requests for a meeting.</p>
<p>To his credit, Brad Hazzard, who replaced Upton in April 2015, met the working party representing the tenants and spoke to some of the older tenants. He was <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/millers-point-descendant-patricia-faces-the-hardest-choice-20151114-gkz2vh.html">reportedly</a> “persuaded, over scones and cream in residents’ homes, by their argument that it would be ‘a huge challenge’ for the elderly to move out of the area”. </p>
<p>The minister managed to persuade the NSW Treasury to fund the refurbishing of some existing properties. In November 2015, 28 apartments were made available for the 90 or so Millers Point residents who had not yet <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/millers-point-descendant-patricia-faces-the-hardest-choice-20151114-gkz2vh.html">moved</a>.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, yet again there was no consultation; 24 of these apartments are small one-bedroom apartments that are not suitable for most of the older residents who need an extra room for a carer and/or family visiting.</p>
<h2>Social harm is irreversible</h2>
<p>The displacement is also destroying an area of great historical significance. In 1999, the whole of Millers Point was declared a heritage site. The <a href="http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/heritageapp/ViewHeritageItemDetails.aspx?ID=5001049">statement of significance</a> said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Its unity, authenticity of fabric and community, and complexity of significant activities and events make it probably the rarest and most significant historic urban place in Australia.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The displacement has exacerbated an already deep and <a href="https://theconversation.com/liveable-sydney-has-clear-winners-and-losers-78030">growing spatial divide</a> between <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-did-the-rich-man-say-to-the-poor-man-why-spatial-inequality-in-australia-is-no-joke-73841">rich and poor</a> in Sydney. The social mix that was a feature of Millers Point has been obliterated along with its rich history. </p>
<p>The 24 remaining tenants are still hoping that the government may show some compassion and let them age in place. It’s a long shot, but it would be a marvellous and humane gesture.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/78994/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alan Morris receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>The last 24 public housing tenants holding out against eviction from Millers Point, Dawes Point and the Sirius Building still hope the government may show some compassion.Alan Morris, Research Professor, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/716192017-01-25T03:32:42Z2017-01-25T03:32:42ZSpeaking with: Nicole Cook on union ‘green bans’, housing affordability and the Sirius building<p>Sydney’s iconic Sirius building was scheduled for demolition by the New South Wales government in 2015. The building – a prominent <a href="https://overland.org.au/2016/09/sirius-and-the-failed-utopianism-of-brutalist-architecture/">Australian example of brutalist architecture</a> – contains 79 apartments for public housing tenants, and residents are furious that they are being moved on to make way for 250 luxury apartments at the gateway of the city.</p>
<p>But this isn’t the first time a NSW government has targeted the Millers Point and Rocks areas for redevelopment. When the Askin government proposed development of the area in the late 1960s, residents’ groups <a href="http://insidestory.org.au/the-battle-for-the-rocks">formed an alliance with the Builders Labourers Federation</a> (BLF). Through a series of co-ordinated strikes (or <a href="https://theconversation.com/bondi-pavilion-green-ban-why-revive-an-old-union-heritage-protection-tactic-60200">“green bans”</a>), they worked to guarantee affordable housing and community spaces for generations of working-class and union families.</p>
<p>Following in the BLF’s footsteps, the CFMEU and Unions NSW put a green ban on the Sirius site <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/were-very-lucky-here-inside-sydneys-sirius-building-20160917-grikju.html">from September 2016</a>. </p>
<p>Dallas Rogers speaks with Nicole Cook, lecturer at the University of Wollongong, about what we can learn from the alliance between residents and unions in the 1970s and the lasting impact the green bans had on planning policy.</p>
<hr>
<p><em><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/speaking-with.../id934267338">Subscribe</a> to The Conversation’s Speaking With podcasts on iTunes, or <a href="http://tunein.com/radio/Speaking-with---The-Conversation-Podcast-p671452/">follow</a> on Tunein Radio.</em></p>
<p><strong>Music</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><p>Free Music Archive – Blue Dot Sessions, <a href="freemusicarchive.org/music/Blue_Dot_Sessions/none_given_2132/Outside_the_Terminal">Outside the Terminal</a></p></li>
<li><p>Free Music Archive – The Kyoto Connection, <a href="freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Kyoto_Connection/The_Middle_Way/2_Close_to_the_Abyss">Close to the Abyss</a></p></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Additional Audio</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><p>William Woods (YouTube) – <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDkjH3NSZYI">Lifetime resident Barney Gardner addresses crowd outside NSW Parliament House</a></p></li>
<li><p>Tanya Plibersek – <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xp5ehtDIbtU">Millers Point Public Housing</a></p></li>
<li><p>ABC Radio National – Blue Print for Living, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/blueprintforliving/iconic-buildings:-sirius-building/7996262">Iconic Buildings: Sirius Building</a></p></li>
<li><p>Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority – The Rocks: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tug7x1EDHjA">Jack Mundey and the Victory</a> </p></li>
<li><p>Forced Out – The Documentary (Preview): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsKkBId2_gQ">Pru Goward interview</a> </p></li>
<li><p>Pat Fiske – <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxPcqbTsNVk">Rocking the Foundations</a> (interviews with Nita McCrae and Owen Magee)</p></li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/71619/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dallas Rogers receives funding from the Community Broadcasting Foundation to produce short academic interviews for SoundMinds Radio (<a href="http://www.soundminds.com.au/author/dallas/">http://www.soundminds.com.au/author/dallas/</a>). Segments of this interview were played on community radio in January 2017.</span></em></p>Dallas Rogers speaks with Nicole Cook about how union 'green bans' in the 1970s stopped the redevelopment of working-class suburbs in Sydney.Dallas Rogers, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Architecture, Design and Planning at the University of Sydney, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.