Saving Melbourne’s public housing towers from Labor’s demolition
RAHU Secretary Harry Millward argues that the Victorian Labor government’s so-called public housing “renewal” is social cleansing by state policy. Against Labor’s demolitions and privatisation, we need a diversity of tactics, from mass rallies to direct action.
Announced in 2023, the final policy agenda of the Andrews Labor Government was to “renew” (AKA tear down) the 44 iconic public housing towers across Melbourne. A death knell for public housing in a state that already ranks rock bottom in the proportion of housing it provides where social housing is at around 3.1% (a figure that includes community housing). Public housing specifically is estimated to be around 2.5%.
As a Renters and Housing Union (RAHU) member, I was present when this announcement took place and spoke to a government representative. I requested evidence that these homes were beyond repair, and while I was assured it existed, that evidence never came.
Since then, we have seen an undemocratic, chaotic, and cruel communication strategy. Residents have felt pressured to sign contracts they didn’t understand, communications have failed to account for language and literacy barriers, and there has been a disturbing lack of transparency about the decision-making process. This echoes the lack of care for residents we saw during the 2020 hard lockdowns, which violated human rights and caused ongoing trauma for the residents of those nine towers. It is an ongoing pattern of turning public housing residents into second-class citizens.
On 2 August 2025, around a thousand supporters gathered outside the State Library of Victoria in Melbourne. Echoing across the city, we heard from residents suffering from the stress and fear of displacement, and from the amazing people working alongside them — powerful speech after powerful speech. We then marched to the sound of pro-public housing chants of “Public housing here to stay! Greedy developers go away!” to Homes Victoria. There we heard from people with lived experience of homelessness and from those who have experienced disability exacerbated by the inability to find secure housing. The march continued on to Spring Street, culminating in speeches from representatives of political parties opposing the demolition.
The Mass Rally for Public Housing was a collaborative effort by the Renters and Housing Union (RAHU), Save Public Housing Collective (SPHC), Stop The Demolitions, Black Peoples Union (BPU), and tenant groups like 44 Flats United (44FU). The rally was a collective rejection of the Victorian Labor Government’s plans to demolish and privatise the public housing towers around Melbourne — a plan that would displace around 10,000 residents, primarily First Nations people, asylum seekers, people with disabilities, and those in poverty. Exacerbating the pre-existing housing crisis is not renewal; it is social cleansing by state policy.
This is our business
The Renters and Housing Union (RAHU), a union of around 1,400 members in Victoria alone, represents the interests of tenants. We collectively reject the narrative that these towers are “beyond repair”, or that handing over the role of “social housing” to the private community housing sector is in the interests of anyone but greedy developers.
Every day, we hear from members forced into rental stress, paying over 30% of their income on rent — some over 50%, or even 70%. Many are forced to cut down on food to make their payments, but what viable alternatives do they have? Some move in with family, others crowd into share houses, dividing living spaces into makeshift bedrooms. Some endure health risks by living with black mould, while others are forced into cars or onto friends’ couches.
This experience demonstrates that the private model—the market model, the business model, or whatever one calls the status quo of housing—has failed those most vulnerable and is increasingly putting the ‘average’ person under pressure. This pressure on middle Australia has led the media to label this a “housing crisis”, but this is not new; it has simply started affecting more people with connections and a voice that others are finally willing to hear.
What we know is that the market does not simply respond to demand with supply. When 5% to 10% of homes in metropolitan Melbourne are kept empty long-term—a sufficient supply to house every homeless person—it is clear that something else is going on. Ever-increasing rents are fuelled by real estate agents using CoreLogic algorithms to push people to their limits because it is in their economic interests. Nearly 70% of members of parliament own multiple properties and fight to maintain the status quo because it is in their economic interests. Landlords turn human needs into investments because it is in their economic interests. For all this our interest in a home is left behind.
The trojan house of privatisation
Labor is spinning an old tale that the public sector is incapable of managing public services, so they must be handed over to the private sector. This is the same fallacy that preceded the sale of the state’s energy grid, leading to soaring power bills. From public transport and telecommunications to education and health, the strategy is the same: use destruction by neglect to manufacture consent for selling off public institutions, leading to disastrous outcomes where profit comes first.
They are calling this policy “renewal”, but on its own terms, it is removal — replacing public housing (state-owned and run) with a mix of private, community (run by NGOs/charities), and “affordable” housing (a nebulous descriptor for housing tied to the market rather than income). “But this is not privatisation, it’s just a 40-year lease” is the fig leaf of the moment. This argument falls flat, as a 40-year lease is, at a minimum, 40 years of privatisation of public land, and it comes with no guarantee of returning to public hands when the lease is up. This does not matter to the current ministers; anyone still alive will be long out of government, making it a problem for someone too distant to care about.
The Melbourne towers sit on prime land near the inner city. They provide an opportunity for some of the most vulnerable and impoverished people to build community, access important services, and use affordable transport. They provide a rare element of competition to a market housing sector that has become increasingly unaffordable and inaccessible (with a massive jump since 2020). This prime land is an irresistible investment opportunity for real estate developers, who have found a willing ally in the Labor party.
The colonial question
The struggle for housing justice is inextricably linked to the struggle for land justice. For First Nations residents, this displacement echoes the history of genocide and displacement. To be forcibly removed from your home, many on their own stolen land, by a colonial government is an act of ongoing violence. The Black Peoples Union (BPU) has been at the forefront of highlighting this truth, and RAHU stands in firm solidarity.
The mass sell-off (lease off, whatever) of so-called “Crown land” also raises a disturbing political question about the state’s attitude to Treaty. How can the Victorian government pretend to negotiate in good faith about land justice and sovereignty while it is simultaneously handing over public land to private developers? It looks like a tactic to liquidate the portfolio before any potential Treaty negotiations can establish First Nations’ rightful claim to it. This demolition plan is not just a housing policy, it is an active continuation of the colonial project.
Praxis from many angles
Grappling with the fight to save public housing, it seems impossible to win from any one direction. History teaches us that a diversity of tactics is not only more effective but has the ability to engage more people. Successful liberation and union movements engage both hard and soft power. Not everyone will accept the necessity of direct action, and for many, engaging with the government through letter writing and petitions is seen as a waste of time in an undemocratic system.
In this campaign, we have engaged in letter writing, petitioning, government advocacy, media releases, public education, community meetings, mass protest, and supporting direct action. The greatest challenge has been convincing people that they should care — that this will not only affect the tenants losing their homes but all people in insecure housing.
Since mid-2025, as we approach the first demolitions, we have supported community pickets that have helped stop pre-demolition works on the towers. The community pickets have turned away workers, gummed up schedules, and in some cases, community members have even locked on to machinery — directly throwing their bodies on the line to protect people’s homes and the future of public housing.
The turnout has shown the cause is gaining traction in the community beyond just RAHU membership, focused community groups, and residents themselves. This is a growing cry from the community.
Will it be enough? Time will tell.
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Harry Millward, Secretary of the Renters and Housing Union (RAHU). Harry has been an organiser with RAHU since mid-2022, serving initially as a branch delegate, then as assistant treasurer, and as Secretary since 2024. The Renters and Housing Union (RAHU) is a collective organisation founded in 2020. It emerged from a planned rent strike in response to COVID-19 lockdowns, as people were losing work and their ability to pay rent and mortgages. Through collective action, RAHU won a moratorium on evictions in Victoria and successfully campaigned to have it renewed twice. RAHU operates on the One Big Union model. True political power lies in collective strength, rather than in seeking saviours within the electoral system. RAHU’s focus for 2025 is opposing the demolition of public housing, with a particular focus on Victoria, and collective bargaining, bringing together renters who share the same landlords.
Feature image courtesy of the Renters and Housing Union.