Champions of Change
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champions of change Shelter NSW, Community Activism and Transforming NSW’s Housing System Dr Tony Gilmour National Housing Action 1988 champions of change Shelter NSW, Community Activism and Transforming NSW’s Housing System Dr Tony Gilmour First published September 2018 ISBN 978-0-646-99221-1 © Tony Gilmour and Shelter NSW, 2018 Shelter NSW, Level 2, 10 Mallett Street, Camperdown NSW 2050 www.shelternsw.org.au Copyright information This publication was written by Tony Gilmour on behalf of Shelter NSW and its contents are the property of the author and Shelter NSW. This publication may be reproduced in part or whole by non-profit organisations and individuals for educational purposes, as long as Shelter NSW and the author are acknowledged. Any opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Shelter NSW. Cover design: Kim Allen Design ii Champions of Change Contents List of Tables, Figures and Boxes iv Foreword v Introduction ix 1 On Fertile Ground: Shelter’s Origins 1.1 Slum landlords, squalor and workers’ housing 1 1.2 The march of developers, expressways and the Commission 6 1.3 Residents and unions fight back 10 1.4 It’s time: For the Whitlam government 14 2 A Voluntary Organisation: Shelter 1974–84 2.1 Born in 1974, but which Shelter? 21 2.2 The political pendulum swings three times 32 2.3 Shelter comes of age 39 3 Midwife to the Sector: Shelter Supporting the Housing Network 3.1 Birth and flight of the Tenants’ Union 47 3.2 Nurturing an activist housing sector 52 3.3 Community housing’s birth and growth 63 4 Swings and Roundabouts: Shelter 1984–95 4.1 Shelter’s golden years, 1984–91 71 4.2 The Schipp attack, and counter-defence 85 4.3 Activist or peak? Shelter in transition, 1991–95 91 5 Maturing the Organisation: Politics, Persuasion and Capacity 5.1 Shelter’s lobbying strategies 107 5.2 The Olympics: A hard race for the disadvantaged 120 5.3 The recurring battle for Millers Point 127 5.4 Building Shelter’s capacity 134 6 A Modernised Peak Body: Shelter 1995–2005 6.1 The new political reality, 1995–2000 153 6.2 Highs and lows, 2000–05 163 7 Changing with the Times: Shelter since 2005 7.1 Labor makes the running, in different directions, 2005–11 175 7.2 Shelter since 2011: Surviving in a changing world 192 8 Champions of Change: Shelter Past, Present and Future Abbreviations and Glossary 218 Timeline 222 Commonwealth-State Housing Agreements 240 Note on Sources 242 Acknowledgements 247 References 248 About the author 258 iii List of Tables, Figures and Boxes Table 1: NSW Shelter’s founders, 1977 30 Table 2: Longstanding NSW housing ministers 111 Table 3: Longstanding Shelter staff 146 Table 4: Longstanding Shelter directors 147 Table 5: Shelter’s family members, 2017 151 Table 6: Shelter’s prodigious output 182 Figure 1: Public housing’s building bonanza, 1970s 16 Figure 2: Shelter’s fluctuating income, 1978–2017 144 Figure 3: Surpluses and deficits, 1978–2017 145 Figure 4: Peak public housing, 1997 162 Box 1: Shelter Hall of Fame: Zula Nittim, academic activist 18 Box 2: Shelter Hall of Fame: Marg Barry, school of social development 31 Box 3: Shelter Hall of Fame: Robert Mowbray, the outside agitator 49 Box 4: Better than a bus shelter: The first-known press release, 1978 56 Box 5: Modernising public housing, 1986 83 Box 6: Frank Walker, radical housing minister 84 Box 7: Shelter Hall of Fame: John Nicolades, holding the fort 92 Box 8: Shelter Hall of Fame: Harvey Volke, comrade and wit 115 Box 9: Reverend Harry Herbert, evangelism in action 122 Box 10: Shelter’s ‘objectives’, 1979 135 Box 11: Shelter’s ‘purpose and role’, 2007–08 to date 137 Box 12: Shelter Hall of Fame: Mary Perkins, steadying the tiller 168 Box 13: Shelter Hall of Fame: Craig Johnston, man of letters 185 Box 14: Shelter Hall of Fame: Adam Farrar, long-distance rider 194 iv Champions of Change Foreword by Sue Cripps and Karen Walsh The year in which Shelter NSW turned 44 we decided it was time to document its history. This book not only captures the history of housing advocacy in New South Wales but takes every opportunity to position housing advocacy in the broader social, economic and political context, and each chapter paints a picture about how the players responded to or leveraged this in pursuit of the vision for a fair and just housing system. This book is frank and honest in its interpretation and narrative, which bring to life many of the activists, prominent characters and quiet achievers committed to housing justice. It highlights the people, the champions, the struggles and the challenges that endured in broader society during this period. In reviving these stories it illuminates the gems, the personal recollections and anecdotes of these champions, many of whom have passed on yet remain legends and even heroes. It’s an important historical document in that, whilst the period is relatively recent, it demonstrates how fickle and short-lived many policies are, and how, with the stroke of a pen, with a change of government, years of good work and progress can take major setbacks. Systemic advocacy requires patience and is described as a ‘long game’. When there are wins they deserve to be celebrated, and the achievements highlighted in this book show that Shelter has certainly played a key role helping to ‘modernise’ the NSW housing system and act as a champion of change. Importantly, this book highlights the fact that the way we approach advocacy today is very different to that of the 1970s, and through this highlights how the world has changed, yet in many ways is the same. The highs and lows of the past five decades have certainly shaped the way that Shelter NSW has adapted to remain relevant and legitimate, and the abundance of goodwill and support towards Shelter has been much appreciated, especially during periods when funds were scarce. v Whilst there’s so much that has progressed in the housing policy space, there are also headlines from the 1970s that still resonate today. Despite Australia boasting of its wealth and GDP and that, unlike many other jurisdictions, it hasn’t experienced a recession for 27 years, we find ourselves in a housing crisis in 2018, with record levels of housing stress, a continuing trend in rising homelessness and growing numbers of people waiting for social housing. Poverty, discrimination, unemployment and homelessness remain daily headlines and are even barbeque stoppers. The impacts of urban density, urban renewal, social displacement, gentrification and renewal on low-income households were key policy challenges during Shelter’s birth, and these policy challenges are prominent today. The quote (on page 3) by a Glebe Resident Action Group member in the Henderson inquiry report of 1975 could be repeated verbatim today and still ring true. Another policy area of concern in the 1970s, as Tony Gilmour notes, was that tenancy legislation favoured landlords and was unfair to tenants. Whilst there has been limited positive policy shifts since then, this still needs urgent reform, and Shelter NSW with the Tenants’ Union and others continue this work. With the decline in home ownership rates and an increasing proportion of private renters, the impacts of this unfair legislation is affecting more and more people. For Shelter NSW, this important document is about us reflecting and looking back whilst also looking forwards. The housing crisis we find ourselves in today means there is much work to be done by Shelter and its members, supporters and partners. Whilst we can draw on our corporate knowledge, expertise and strong foundation of history, our future and the impact we make will depend on today’s decisions and today’s leadership. Shelter is as important now as ever, acting (along with this book) as the institutional memory of the sector, helping prevent repeating the same old mistakes. How we adapt and influence in the future is critical, and whilst we can celebrate the wins of the past, we are also cognisant that to remain relevant in a crowded space and achieve collective impact in pursuit of our vision, we must continue to change and make use of new technologies and adopt new ways of doing business. Our future is reliant on how we mobilise our resources, how we collaborate and remain agile to respond to a changing environment – and this means we will need to focus our energies on areas where we will have the greatest impact. When we spoke with Dr Tony Gilmour about this book, we had no idea what the end product would reveal. This book could have been a dry and dull read, but it is quite the contrary. It is testament to Tony’s vision vi Champions of Change that this book is a comprehensive, rich read that brings the facts, stories and personalities to life. He gave generously of his time and approached this project with gusto, passion and a commitment to documenting a story that has integrity and is an interesting read. Tony describes the journey of researching and writing as a ‘labour of love’. vii viii Champions of Change Introduction Shelter NSW (Shelter) has a long and intriguing history. In continuous existence since 1974, the organisation’s staff, volunteers and directors have been both witness to – and contributors to – the transformation of New South Wales’s housing system. While this book tells the story of Shelter as a peak body, recording their highs and lows, it is not just about a single organisation.