Goya Dmytryshchak
By Goya Dmytryshchak
Housing provider Unison was last night given the green light to use student accommodation for social and affordable housing at a Seddon site.
As exclusively revealed by Star Weekly, Maribyrnong council brokered a deal with Unison after earlier refusing its application for 69-79 Buckley Street.
The approval is based on having onsite security for three days a week, subject to a review in two years.
Unison had lodged an appeal in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal in a bid to overturn the original refusal.
Unison chief executive James King addressed councillors at last night’s meeting, saying he objected to a review after two years.
“The assumption that these residents are to be treated like prisoners is ridiculous, so Unison doesn’t support this,” he said.
“… The ongoing financial requirement to service that security need – we’re a non-for-profit, this is affordable housing, it’s not market rent. There is no return in order to service that.
“We’ve had to move some mountains in order to incorporate security for three days a week … and that was, again, to try and demonstrate our commitment to mitigating some of the concerns.”
Deputy Mayor Anthony Tran told the meeting he owed “a great apology, perhaps to all of the supporters” for initially refusing the application.
“I think I owe that apology on the grounds that my initial decision was quite ignorant and quite … I think the better word is, I made it too hastily,” he said.
“Coming from an immigrant family, my family were living in the immigration camp, the immigration hostel, just across the road from there actually.
“People will constantly immigrate into Australia, people will constantly be looking for cheap accommodation and just accommodation in general … and if the city of Maribyrnong can provide that it would be fantastic.”
The planning application had received 21 objections from 14 properties while a petition supporting the proposal gained 119 signatures.
