2020-07-06
Preventing a hard lock down of other public housing towers across Melbourne must now be a priority for the Housing Minister.
Public housing residents across the state are raising concerns about empty hand sanitiser, broken lifts forcing people to huddle into one small space, large families in tiny apartments waiting years to transfer to a bigger property, and very little COVID information provided in local languages.
Quotes from Sam Hibbins, Victorian Greens spokesperson for Housing:
“The state government must take immediate action to prevent more hard lockdowns of our public housing estates”
“From on-site testing to increased supply of hand sanitiser and face masks, translated plain language information provided directly to all tenants and extra cleaning, the government must do all it can to prevent another public housing lockdown”
Quotes from Ellen Sandell, Acting Leader of Victorian Greens and Member for Melbourne:
“Watching what the residents in the Kensington and North Melbourne public housing towers are going through is heartbreaking. The Housing Minister must now do all he can to ensure other public housing residents do not face a similar situation.
The State Government blocked us from providing COVID19 information in community languages to public housing residents early in the crisis. Now it is incumbent on them to ensure information on how to keep safe is getting through, hand sanitiser is available in all communal areas and urgent maintenance is undertaken.”