Cade Lucas
This story was originally published in September 2024 and Star Weekly has chosen to share it again for readers to enjoy.
For the past 16 months, Lara Week and Matt Robinson from Williamstown’s Techno Park Drive estate, have run a stall at the Altona Market.
There they gather signatures and support for their campaign to remain in the homes, which in May last year Hobsons Bay council abruptly tried to evict them from.
“For me personally, for the last 16 months it’s been a full time job,” said Ms Week of the Save Techno Park campaign, which has so far staved off council’s attempt to suddenly enforce zoning rules and remove them.
And with the prospect of a new council being voted in at next month’s municipal elections (only two of seven Hobsons Bay councillors are seeking re-election), there’s hope that an end to the saga could be imminent.
Despite this optimism, Ms Week, a theatre worker who as lived at Techno Park Drive since 2020, said the fight to remain had come at a cost.
I’m an independent worker and I’ve lost I’d say a third of my income last year because of campaigning,” she said.
For Mr Robinson, who has lived at Techno Park for five years and supplements his income doing maintenance around the estate, it was the prospect of lost income that was worrying.
“It’s my livelihood,” he said of the maintenance work which estimates makes up 50 per cent of his income.
Ms Week said the months of uncertainty had also taken a physical toll.
“I can say that the stress and the impact of that on people’s jobs and family life and relationships, health has been severe,” she said.
“One of our neighbours was hospitalised for mental health last year and her husband said it was a direct result of living in terror of the council coming to remove them from their homes.”
Despite this, Mr Robinson said the last 16 months had brought some unexpected benefits.
“We’ve built up this amazing community, it’s like we’re one big family,” he said of the way the campaign had galvanised the Techno Park community.
“Two years ago I wouldn’t have known three quarters of the people up the road (in the estate). Now, because of this, I know everyone up the road. It’s interesting that a bad thing, a good thing comes out of it.”
Hobsons Bay council was contacted for comment.
