Housing Announcements from the Victorian Government
Over the last couple of months, there have been a series of housing-related announcements from the Victorian State Government. These have included: redevelopment of the Flemington Estate walk-ups, construction of 68 new public housing dwellings in Preston and significant additional funding for family violence and homelessness accommodation and support.
The VPTA has lobbied for a number of public housing projects to be undertaken (such as new construction in Preston on the former Huttonham Estate, which was bull-dozed some years ago) and is pleased that the Victorian Government is taking some action.
We expect further announcements, including the Victorian Housing Strategy, before the end of the year. For more information and to stay up-to-date, follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PublicTenants on Twitter: https://twitter.com/publictenants and via our website: https://vpta.org.au/
VPTA position on Stock Transfers
The VPTA Board has recently adopted a clear Statement concerning any proposals to transfer public housing properties to Community Housing or other agencies.
The Statement reads:
“The VPTA supports an affordable and secure public housing system. We do not support wholesale transfers of public housing to community housing or to the private sector.
The only circumstances where we may support individual instances of stock transfer to community housing is where it can be adequately demonstrated that there will be a clear and guaranteed net benefit for current and future tenants including growth in affordable social housing.”
Engaging with Tenants
Our staff continue to visit public housing tenants where they live, participating in local forums and events. This provides further opportunities for the VPTA to engage in face-to-face conversations with public housing tenants, in addition to the many phone calls our office receives.
The VPTA Board has adopted a ‘Terms of Reference’ document to guide the establishment of a VPTA Tenant Reference Group, which will provide a further mechanism for tenants to engage with our organisation. If you, or a tenant you know, is interested in being involved, please contact Raoul Wainright at the VPTA office on 1800 015 510
Secure web address for the VPTA
The VPTA has upgraded its security features on our website. Our new address is https://vpta.org.au/ For most internet users, familiar with our website, you will automatically be redirected to our new web address when you use your ‘history’ or ‘bookmark’ function to go to the VPTA website. New users should type in the correct (new) address – there is an ‘s’ inserted after the ‘http’.
When you view our website, you will notice the padlock icon in front of our web address. This demonstrates the new ‘security’, which we have deemed necessary in order to add a new feature: a ‘DONATE’ link.
Donations and Sponsorship
The VPTA is actively seeking sponsorship and donations from the corporate sector, as well as from individuals who wish to support our work on behalf of public housing tenants. All donations are tax deductible, as the VPTA is a Registered Charity.
The first step in facilitating donations was to add the ability to donate directly via our website. Regular or one-off donations can now be made via our secure website using ‘Paypal’ or through Direct Debit from a bank account.
We hope to increase the VPTA’s income in the future, expand our services and become less dependent on government funding. We will be accountable for how donation funds are expended and will produce public reports on how much we receive and how it is spent.
For further information, go to https://vpta.org.au/donate/
Office closure over holidays
Please note that the VPTA office will be closing at 12 mid-day on Friday 23rd December and will re-open at 9am on Tuesday 3rd January 2017. Between Christmas and New Year (i.e. Dec 28 – 30), a staff member will be checking for messages left on our telephone answering service and responding to any urgent inquiries.
Season’s Greetings
The VPTA wishes you all a safe and relaxing summer; we hope you find time to sit back, spend some happy time with friends, neighbours &/or family and experience ‘Peace and Good Will’.