Vigilantes, whipped-up by local right-wing politicians and NSW Premier Chris Minns, rampaged through Pine Street in Lismore on March 15.
The mob was harassing people who have occupied fewer than 10 houses, which have been left vacant since massive flooding in the region in 2022.
The March 16 on videos of the right-wing thugs: 鈥淎n individual can be seen trying to smash a car windscreen while someone is inside the vehicle; a person appears to throw a metal object out of a moving car while yelling abuse; in another, fireworks appear to be thrown from a moving car; and in a final video, a ute can be seen performing doughnuts on the street.鈥
The thugs were incensed that people in desperate need of housing decided to occupy houses, which were among the more than 600 properties that the NSW Reconstruction Authority bought after the last big flood. They are in the most flood-prone parts of the town.
The former owners of these houses, and many others, had an understanding that these well-made Queenslander-style timber homes in good condition would be relocated to safer ground and remain part of the town鈥檚 desperately-needed housing stock.
Right-wing councillors with substantial property interests and their allies have used community Facebook pages to vilify the occupiers as 鈥渙utsiders鈥 and 鈥渇reeloaders鈥 who are 鈥渏umping the social housing queue鈥.
One local councillor called the occupiers 鈥渁 cancer鈥.
Andrew George, from Reclaim Our Recovery (ROR), which has been campaigning for a democratic and just reconstruction effort since the 2022 flood, told 麻豆传媒 that the Pine Street occupiers have indeed 鈥渃ome from all over鈥, because 鈥渢he homelessness crisis is all over, literally forcing people to move to find somewhere to live鈥.
George said the occupiers鈥 stated goals are to protect and maintain the houses for later use. They use the slogan: 鈥淥ccupation until relocation鈥.
George described how state government programs, meant to address the massive damage of the 2022 flood, have been disjointed and inadequately resourced.
Only a small minority of those requesting a buyback, house-raising or repair have received any help and there was no real support for the promised acquisition of land and relocation of houses, or for former tenants of buy back houses.
Local developers have also used their influence to severely restrict the number of buyback houses allowed on new developments.
George said that ROR was started by those concerned with bureaucratic failings and 鈥渄isaster capitalism鈥 in the wake of the 2022 flood. It proposes instead a 鈥渃ommunity-led recovery and ecological justice鈥.
ROR has forced the NSW Reconstruction Authority to relate to large public meetings, and is campaigning for a 鈥淧eople鈥檚 Assembly鈥 to be a part of the flood recovery and disaster adaptation programs.
It has helped tenants of some buyback houses to gain a 鈥渓icense to occupy鈥 their homes and argues this arrangement could be extended to the Pine Street occupiers.
But George said the local council, dominated by real estate, property investor and other business owners, has blocked democratic participation in the recovery. The same vested interests are demanding the buyback houses be immediately demolished.
In this context, NSW Labor seems to have decided that demolishing the houses it bought is the easiest option, despite the irrational waste of resources and the fact it does nothing to house homeless people.
The small minority of these houses occupied by squatters is being used as a convenient excuse to demolish all of them.
In the aftermath of minor flooding associated with Cyclone Alfred, Minns claimed it was urgent to demolish the houses. Pandering to the right-wing 2GB audience he said occupiers were 鈥渙bviously trespassing and putting people鈥檚 lives in danger鈥.
Claims by Minns and local right-wingers that emergency services had to unnecessarily attend the Pine Street houses in the midst of a flood were contradicted by locals who posted photos to Facebook showing the street was very well cleaned up, flood protected and empty, well before residents were advised to leave the area.
Sue Higginson, NSW Greens Legislative Council member and a Lismore resident, said: 鈥淧remier Chris Minns has chosen to punch down on my community, on the frontline of the climate crisis, spreading lies and stoking division rather than addressing the real issues we are facing.鈥
George called for community defence of the Pine Street houses if threatened with demolition. ROR is circulating a to demand the threatened houses be relocated.
Rachel Evans, a housing activist and Socialist Alliance candidate for the federal seat of Sydney, told GL she supports the Pine Street residents and others taking action to win the basic right to genuinely affordable housing.
鈥淭he right will always scapegoat the vulnerable to deflect from their greedy profit-first, anti-social approach. There are so many solutions, including community-controlled public housing, a cap on rents and strict controls on landlords. Eliminating capital gains tax exemptions and negative gearing incentives would also go a long way to help make housing the human right it should be.鈥
[ against demolition.]聽